


One-Shots/Drabbles

by Averys_got_a_pen



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Autistic Beauregard Lionett, Autistic Caleb Widogast, Canon-Typical Violence, Chapter-specific tags in notes, DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED 69, Does that mean im going to stop writing BeauYasha?, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I don't usually play spellcasters, Just my two cents on what could've happened, Lots of hurt lots of comfort, Mighty Nein as Family, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Child Abuse, SO, Self-Worth Issues, Sleeping Together (Literally), Spoilers for critical role, Whump, You bet your sweet chopsticks it doesnt :-), accepting prompts currently, bc beau's dad is a dick, canon-typical angst, chapter-specific TWs in notes, dubious bending of spell rules (I think), h/c, i don't know if you can tell but Beau is high-key my favourite, i love Beau/Yasha but also, im leaning towards Beau/Jester, look - Freeform, most of these will probably be beau-centric, no editing we die like men, so i dont really know, someone help these poor nerds, spoilers for episode 69, tw: child abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2019-11-13 02:09:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 38,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18022826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Averys_got_a_pen/pseuds/Averys_got_a_pen
Summary: Just a bunch of one shots and drabbles I write for Critical Role. I don't write regularly or in any way consistently so they're probably not the greatest but I hope you enjoy them anyways :)I'm currently accepting prompts for this collection so if you have anything you'd like to see, drop it in the comments and I'll give it my best shot!





	1. Burnt Woods

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo, this is just a little something I came up with (unedited btw) bc I love these stupid empire disaster siblings and their whole dynamic. Hope I did it some justice. Enjoy :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is predominantly Beau & Caleb friendship with a touch of H/C
> 
> TW injury, fire

The Meighty Nein awoke to the smell of fire. 

Caleb and Caduceus were the first to notice; Caleb was more than accustomed to the smell of burning wood and the horror it usually brought with it. Caduceus was just unusually perceptive - especially when it comes to nature - and instantly recognised the smell of smoke. 

" _Scheisse_." Caleb scrambled away as a nearby tree began to teeter dangerously. 

"That's not good." Caduceus commented mildly. 

"Get up!" Caleb shouted, flustering about the group in a hurry. Where in the Hells were Jester and Nott? They were supposed to be keeping watch! "Get up, get up! There's fire!" 

Fjord was on his feet in an instant, brushing messy hair off his face and Yasha was up next, seeming as though she hadn't been caught in the middle of a long rest, already holding the Magician's Judge and looking battle-ready. It took for Caleb to physically shove Beau (a dangerous activity under most circumstances) to get her to wake up. 

"Ugh, what the fuck, Caleb?" she said blearily, opening her eyes. "I killed a fucking troll earlier, I need some fucking sleep." 

"Fire." Caleb said the single word in a mix of emotions, something of fear and reverence, awe and disgust. 

Beau blinked a few times, looking over his shoulder. "Fire. Right. Shit. Where are Nott and Jes?" 

Caleb pulled a piece of wire out of his pocket as Beau got up deftly, grabbing her staff as though it were the key to defeating the fire. He brought the wire close to his mouth and said, "Nott, if you can hear me, there's a fire. We're running. Stay safe." 

There was no reply. 

Caleb looked about the forest where they'd made camp. The trees were dry and brittle, perfect for the fire to consume. He didn't know what - who - had caused the fire, but it was spreading rapidly. As he scrambled to pick up his backpack, he felt the heat burning, all-too-familiar, at the back of his neck, the smell of burnt wood making him think back, making him remember when-" 

"Hey, Caleb!" Beau slapped him not-so-lightly across the face. "Now's not the time, 'kay? We've gotta fucking move." 

He realised that Caduceus and Yasha were already out of sight, Fjord stopping just at the edge of the clearing to wait for them. Beau grabbed Caleb's arm, tugging him away from the fire. "We're gotta move." she shouted over the roaring over the fire. Caleb just nodded, deciding for once to let her take the lead and drag him through the trees. 

It was the dead of night, but the fire made more than enough light for them to see the way forward. Eventually Beau stopped dragging Caleb along, and he managed to pick up his feet and run; she was still a ways ahead of him, far faster than he was. Everything was red and orange and yellow and that godsawful smell of  _burning_ and the heat was starting to get to Caleb, his coat was suffocating him and-

Too late he realised a nearby tree was coming crashing down onto him. He managed to move enough that the full impact of it didn't hit him, but it lay across his chest in a burning, crushing vice. Panic coursed through him as he tried to shift it to no avail. He wasn't nearly strong enough. 

"Beauregard!" he shouted as loudly as he could, the weight on his chest making it hard for him to get any sort of volume. Each breath he took made the ache in his chest worse, and he was sure he felt a grinding of his bones beneath his skin when he tried to wriggle out. "Fjord! Jester! NOTT!" he could feel himself panicking, his voice becoming raw from the dryness of the smoke and the fear. He went to summon Frumpkin, but the familiar had been lost earlier in the battle with the trolls, and he couldn't bring him back now. 

This was it. 

This was how Caleb Widogast was going to die. Crushed beneath burning trees in a forest, alone. 

Burning. Ironic, wasn't it? Caleb Widogast was to burn to death. 

Then, he heard the sound of coughing. Violent coughing, like someone couldn't stop and couldn't breathe. "C-Caleb?" a weak, strained voice called out. "Caleb?!" louder now, and he realised it was Beau, her voice raw from the smoke she was inhaling. 

"Here!" he said as loud as he could, but his voice sounded insignificant beneath the roaring fire. "I-I'm here!" 

Caleb saw Beau's silhouette come through the smoke, and a moment later the Monk appeared, covering her mouth and nose with the crook of her elbow. He could see burns adorning her usually pristine Monk's garb and she kept coughing into her arm.

She didn't say anything as she spotted Caleb, clearly trying to reserve her oxygen. She knelt down next to him, putting both hands under the tree trunk that was across his body. It was almost twice the size of Beau herself, and she was clearly struggling against the weight of it. 

"Gonna need your help here," she panted, releasing it for a second. 

"I cannot-" Caleb coughed, feeling smoke pressing in at his throat. 

"You'll fucking help me get you out of this, 'cause I swear to God Caleb if I die trying to save you, I'm gonna come back and haunt your ass till you die." 

"We are both very weak Beauregard." he reminded her. 

"Okay, okay, let's-" she dissolved into a coughing fit. The fire was catching up to them now, and when Caleb looked around he found that it was swiftly enclosing them in a circle. 

Without another word, Beau laid down beside Caleb, bracing her legs under the trunk as best she could from this position. The angle she was using to lift the trunk would put a lot of strain on her lower back, Caleb realised as she held up three fingers. As she dropped to two, he put both hands on the trunk, trying to ignore the burst of agony in his chest. Just one finger now. Breathing hurt; breathing hurt a lot. 

As Beau dropped down the last finger, they both pushed simultaneously. Caleb felt he wasn't doing much of the work as Beau used her considerable leg muscle to push the trunk upwards. Between them, they managed to get the trunk about an inch up. 

"Move." Beau said through gritted teeth, sweat pouring down her face from both the heat and the strain. Caleb didn't need to be told twice. 

Pushing down the pain in his chest, he wriggled out as quickly as he could. He felt his coat snag on an errant branch but ignored it. He could see Beau shaking from the effort of holding up the trunk on her own. As soon as he was clear, she dropped it onto the ground with an almighty exhale. 

The both of them got to their feet, and Caleb swayed momentarily. He could taste blood in his mouth. Blood and smoke and soot. Is this what they tasted? Is this the last thing they-

Beau grabbed him by the arm, forcing him away from the painful thought process, and started pulling him towards a small gap in the flame they could slip through. 

"Go." she grunted, pushing him ahead through it. The space they fit through was only small, barely big enough for him, and he felt fire catch his coat as he whipped past. As soon as he was clear of the fire, he started patting his coat out, ridding it of the last of its flame. He glanced back the way he'd come and the fire now encompassed the way he and Beau had come. And it was closing in from all sides, fast. 

"Beauregard!" he shouted, his voice hoarse. There was a moment of terrifying silence, and then a grunt, then another, as Beau appeared, kicking off trees and parkouring from one to another to bypass the fire. She made it to one of the ones closer to Caleb before her food hit a particularly rickety tree, which promptly collapsed and gave her no purchase. 

She crashed to the ground beside Caleb, quickly pulling herself to her feet. 

"Move." she grunted, giving him a little shove for effect. He didn't argue, pushing ahead, away from the fire and towards the main road. 

Beau didn't run ahead this time, in fact keeping several paces behind him to keep an eye on him. 

*** 

By the time they'd caught up with the others, they'd found the source of the fire. Two trolls had come to seek vengeance in the night. They'd taken Nott and Jester and started a fire to cook them on. The two of them had managed to escape, but the damage was already done and the fire was already spreading. When the Empire kids reached the road, Yasha was wiping blood off her blade and Nott and Jester were in hysterics about where the two of them were. 

"They were right behind me!" Fjord was saying, putting a hand on the back of his neck, his face plastered with guilt. "Beau was right behind me and Caleb was right behind her. And then I turned around and..." he made a gesture which read  _poof, they're gone_. 

"We're right here." Beau said, slapping a hand on Caleb's shoulder. "This dumbass got trapped beneath a twig." 

Caleb frowned. "It was not, a uh, twig, Beauregard. It was a rather heavy treetrunk, which is why you needed my assistance in lifting it." 

"Of course it was, Caleb." she gave the others a  _can-you-believe-this_? look, abruptly cut off by being wrapped up in an energetic blue tiefling. 

"We thought you were dead!" Jester said tearfully, gripping tightly onto Beau. "Like dead  _dead_. Really dead. Cremated. The Traveller can't help me bring you back if there's nothing to bring back!" 

Beau wrapped an arm around Jester too, a look of weariness spreading across her face. "We're fine, Jester. I could really use some fuckin' sleep though." 

"Do you need healing?" Jester tapped her foot, stepping away from Beau and looking over the both of them. "I have one spell left, but Cad-" 

"I don't, uh, have any spells left for today unfortunately." Caduceus said. "But I can make some nice herbal tea and in the morning we can get to any other wounds-" 

"I'm fine." Beau said. "Give it to Caleb." 

"Are you sure?" Jester asked with a frown. 

"Yeah, look his chest is even more concave than usual. I'm fine. Coupl'a scratches and bruises." 

"If you say so." Jester said, putting both hands on Caleb's shoulders. He tried not to sag underneath them as he felt the powerful healing spell rush through him, knitting bones back together and soothing burns. Instantly, he could breathe easier and he felt the wave of nausea that had been threatening to consume him dissipate. 

"Thank you, Jester." he said. "Can we make camp for the night, though? I am very tired also." 

Fjord glanced up at the sky. "Sure. Me, Yasha and Nott will stay up. You two need to heal, and you two-" he pointed to Caduceus and Jester. "Need your healin' spells back." 

"Cool." Beau said, moving a little ways away from the main road and finding a spot to pull out her bedroll. After a moment of hesitant silence, Caleb went over to her, holding his own bedroll between his hands. She glanced over her shoulder at him but didn't say anything. 

"T-thank you." Caleb said, tensing and untensing his hands around the bedroll. 

"Don't mention it." 

"How badly are you hurt?" 

"I'm fine," Beau muttered, settling down into her bedroll and trying to find a comfortable position. 

"Your back is burned and you are limping. You are not fine." 

"Yeah? Well bitchin' about it ain't gonna make it any better." she said, rolling so she faced away from him. 

He considered moving further away to put down his bedroll considering that she didn't seem to want company. However, he swallowed down the anxiety bubbling beneath the surface of his skin and set down a respectable couple of feet from her. He dug through his pack for a moment before producing a small jar of cream.

"Um, this is, eh, for burns." Beau half-turned toward him, eyeing the salve suspiciously. "It will help with yours and stop them from scarring." he held it out to her. 

It seemed for a moment she was going to refuse but finally reached out and took it from him. "Thanks, Caleb." she said begrudgingly. 

"Would you like me to help you apply it?" he asked, feeling heat growing in his neck and suddenly very self-conscious. 

"No thanks, I'm good, man." 

"I could call Yasha over and ask her to help?" 

A small smile creased the edges of Beau's lips. Not like her usual smile, not snarky or condescending - it was the soft, genuine smile reserved for her friends. "Tempting as the offer is, I'm sure I'll manage." 

Caleb took that as a signal to the end of the conversation and laid down so that his back was to her. 

"Caleb?" 

"Ja?" 

"G'night." 

"Goodnight, Beauregard." 


	2. Switch Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is just a silly thing with all M9 members

Was it Caleb's fault that all this had happened? Probably. Fjord and Caduceus had suggested that he shouldn't be tinkering with Arcane items that he couldn't identify, but he hadn't been able to help it, the rush of finding out more overruling his usual cautiousness. 

As he found himself transfixed on the object that resembled in shape, a sand timer, he couldn't help but find his fingers pulling at it. The others stood around discussing what they should do with the item that they'd found in a mad Wizard's workshop. They couldn't seem to come to any agreement, so Caleb had found himself being transfixed by the object. He pressed a button in the side and tilted it to the right, hearing a sound like shifting sand inside. 

Instantly, the room was bathed in a bright orange light.

Caleb froze, the light washing over the seven of them, bringing an icy breeze with it. 

Then, just as quickly as it came, the light dissipated, leaving the Might Nein standing around, looking confused. There was a moment of silence, then they all simultaneously turned to Caleb. 

"What the fuck, Caleb?" 

Caleb raised his eyebrows at Caduceus' abruptness and use of a cuss word. "Well, now that doesn't seem quite right." Jester said, her voice a little slower than usual. 

Yasha looked down at her hands, frowning, then turned to look at the Nott. "What the fuck is going on?!" 

"Why in all the Hells am I a goblin?" Nott said, looking down at her hands and then up at the others. "Caleb, what did you do-" 

"I don't-" Caleb began.

"Oh man, I have a dick!" Fjord said excitedly, wiggling his hips. "It's so wiggly, seriously how do you guys put up with this all the time?" 

"I think we should all just calm down at take a moment to figure this out." Beau said softly, folding her arms and hunching slightly. 

Caduceus turned to look at Beau. "Yasha? Are you in my fuckin' body?" 

Beau looked down at her hands, flexing her fingers. "I - I think so." 

"So where's Caduceus?" Nott screeched. 

"I, uh, think perhaps there was a mix up of some kind here." Jester said, speaking slower than any of them were accustomed to. She stood much more still than usual, seeming settled instead of bouncing from foot to foot. 

"Okay," Caleb said. He ran a hand through his hair, before looking over to Fjord. "Jester, are you in there?" 

Fjord grinned. "No this is Fjord speaking. Mustang, Eldritch Blast, Avantika smelled like poo." 

"Yeah, that's not -" Nott sighed, shifting her weight to the other foot. "That's not me, that's Jester." 

"It's totally not and I'm really super duper in love with Jester." 

"I, uh, I'm big." Yasha said. "I think I need a drink. Fjord, give me my flask." 

Caleb just stood staring at them all in confusion for a moment, trying to decide if it was some elaborate prank. However, watching Fjord gyrate his hips excitedly and Beau shrink down to the back of the group, looking uncomfortable, convinced him otherwise. No prank would be enough to make Fjord embarrass himself that much, and Beau wasn't very good at pretending to be quiet. 

"Ja, this isn't good." he said eventually, blinking at them all. 

"Well?" Caduceus snapped, tapping his foot impatiently. "Change us back." 

"I-" Caleb was more than caught off-guard by the abruptness in the Firbolg's voice. "I don't know that I can. I don't know how to." 

He picked up the sand-timer object, holding it delicately between his hands. There was still a trickling sound coming from inside. He put it up to his ear, focusing for a moment. "I think this is a wait-it-out kind of situation. The effect will wear off, I think." 

"That's an awful lot of  _I think_ s, Caleb." Nott said. 

"Yes, I just-" he looked around at them, trying not to be disconcerted by the changes in their body language and facial expression. "I don't know what else I ought to do. Once we get back to the Tavern, I can have a proper look at the artefact. Until then, I cannot offer more answers."  

He eventually managed the grumbling Mighty Nein to make their way back to the Tavern. The trip itself was more eventful than he could've anticipated; Caduceus (Beau) kept losing his balance, tipping slightly and mumbling about "unwieldy Firbolgs" and "Centre of mass". Yasha (Nott) seemed more than uncomfortable with her size change, forgetting to duck low under passing branches and not seeming to realise how intimidating she was, scowling at passers-by. Nott (Fjord) tried to ease the atmosphere but whenever he gave polite smiles out, he seemed to forget that Nott's teeth were a mess of sharp points, scaring people off. 

"This is not good," Caleb said, trying to usher them more quickly towards the Tavern. When they finally got there, thankfully without starting fights or getting arrested, they all piled into his and Nott's room, and he put the artefact down on the bed. 

"You know, Beau," Fjord moved over closer to Caduceus. "I didn't think that anyone could make Caduceus look angry." 

"Yeah?" Caduceus replied. "Well I think today has been a day of firsts, I'd say that." 

"Yeah, I've never had a dick before." Fjord agreed. "And usually I wear dresses. Hey Fjord, how are you doing?" 

Nott glanced up, glowing lamp-like eyes seeming horrified. "I think I gotta pee." 

"Eh, Nott?" Caleb looked around at the group until Yasha stepped forward. "Ah, I could use your help. Could you come here?" 

"I'm not gonna be the one who's showing Fjord how girls pee." Caduceus commented. 

"I'll go with you if you want." Fjord offered. 

"Hm, no," Nott said decisively. "I don't wanna be looking at my own face while I pee." 

"I'll come with you." Beau said slowly, folding her arms. 

"Yasha?" Nott asked. Beau nodded, and Nott groaned. "Fine." 

The two of them left the room, heading for a bathroom down the hall.

"This is all very strange." Jester commented. 

"You can say that again." Yasha muttered over her shoulder. 

"This is all very strange." 

"That's just a saying, 'Deuce." Fjord said. "You don't actually have to say it again. It's silly, I know." 

"It's definitely time-based." Caleb looked up at the other members of the Mighty Nein. "I believe the spell should wear off in, eh, an hour or two perhaps. Until then, we will just have to sit tight." 

"Right, well, I don't know about you all but I need a drink." Caduceus stood up.

"Hell yeah." Yasha said quickly. "Fjord took my flask with him to go to the bathroom." 

"It's maybe not the best idea, right now." Caleb commented. "Being intoxicated might-" 

"Let's go, Jes." Caduceus said, grabbing Fjord by the arm. "Nott, 'Dueces, come with us." 

"I'm not sure that I want to drink-" Fjord began. 

"We'll get you a milk. C'mon." 

***

It was late evening. The spell still hadn't dissipated. Nearly everyone had retired to bed, except for Beau and Caleb. Beau was putting Caduceus' superior metabolism to work by downing another tankard of the worst ale the Tavern offered. Caleb was reading quietly in the corner, trying to figure out more about the Artefact that had mixed his friends up. 

Caduceus slammed two drinks down on the table, sitting down opposite him.

"Any luck?" Caleb asked glancing up. Caduceus gave him a blank look. "The girl at the bar... she's your type, ja?" 

"Yeah, but," Caduceus gestured to his body. "I'm not exactly  _her_ type right now." 

"Ah." Caleb said. "Maybe she's staying here and you can try again tomorrow."

"Provided I'm me again by then." 

"Ja, I didn't expect it to last this long." he said mildly. "How are you adjusting?" 

"Well," Caduceus replied. "I'm covered in fur, two feet taller than I should be, and have all the dexterity of a three-legged-donkey." 

"Good then." Caleb responded. 

"When I'm back in my own body, I'm gonna beat the living shit out of you, Caleb." 

"Of course you are," Caleb repressed a small smile. "Anyway, I think that-" 

"Oh." Caduceus blinked, looking confused. 

"Are you okay, Beauregard?" 

"Oh, I think the spell wore off." Caduceus said with that calming smile. "I'm me - Caduceus - again." 

"Oh, good." Caleb said, closing his book and standing. "I'm going to go to bed, in that case." 

"I don't feel very well," Caduceus said, pulling an uncomfortable face. "I feel sort of like dizzy and tired and wide awake all at once. Do you know if any poison entered my system while Miss Beauregard was using my body?" 

"Hm, yes definitely." Caleb said. "I'd suggest you drink a glass of water before bed though, it'll help you when you wake up." 

"Yeah?" 

"Yeah." Caleb put his book in his coat. "Good night, Caduceus." 

He made his way to his and Nott's room, where Yasha was fast asleep in one of the beds. He climbed into the bed, a small smile of relief on his face. He certainly wasn't looking forward to the conversations they'd be having tomorrow, or the amount of grief he'd get from Beau, but at least everyone was back to normal. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone wondering, this is exactly who got put in who's body.... it got a bit confusing I know 
> 
> Jester -> Fjord  
> Beau -> Caduceus  
> Nott -> Yasha  
> Yasha -> Beau  
> Caduceus -> Jester  
> Fjord -> Nott


	3. Separation Issues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's just Beau/Yasha H/C .... I love these two idiot :) Enjoy
> 
> TW wounds, violence

The situation was shitty, Beau told herself, but it could be worse.

Blood pumped through the wound in her shoulder, the tear created by the dire wolf's teeth. Her and the rest of the Mighty Nein had been travelling through a forest when they'd been attacked by a pack of the huge canines. The fight quickly went downhill when Mollymauk went down; in the instant panic of potentially losing a friend, Jester and Yasha had hurried to help him, leaving Beau alone with three of the beasts. She'd held her own for a little bit, but eventually one of them had gotten its jaws around her shoulder. Sensing that the Nein were winning this fight, the huge creature proceeded to drag its prey off through the forest.

Beau tried to fight it off, but it was a lot bigger and a lot stronger than she was.

By the time she had eventually managed to break free, they were far, far away from where the rest of the Nein were. Beau punched the creature in the face (she'd dropped her fucking staff when it had grabbed her) and put some distance between them, readying herself in a defensive stance. She was weighing her odds: she was hurt pretty badly, and the wolf seemed mostly unharmed. Not great odds.

It bared its teeth and snarled at her, before tipping its head back and letting out a loud howl.

Beau leapt into action, throwing a flurry of punches at the creature and cutting its howl off short and briefly stunning the creature. However, the damage had already been done. She could hear the pounding of more paws and answering howls.

Beau turned, doing her best to ignore the blood pumping out of her shoulder, and fled into the forest, running as fast as she could. She stumbled a couple of times in blind panic, hearing the sounds of the dire wolves still chasing her. She just put her head down and kept running, knowing that there was no way she could fight them. One? Maybe. A pack? Absolutely not. Not on her own.

And she was very much on her own.

Beau was running for nearly an hour before she finally stopped, certain that the wolves had given up the chase. She stood, panting for a moment, before slumping down by the base of a tree. Her shoulder was now starting to go numb (not a good sign) and she could feel exhaustion threatening to drag her beneath the waves of sleep. She forced herself to stand on tired legs; if she passed out here, there would be nothing to stop the wolves from killing her in her sleep.

Ignoring the protest of her battered and exhausted body, she began to pull herself up into a tree. As far as she was aware, the wolves couldn't climb. If she could just get high enough, she would be safe.

As she reached for a higher branch, she felt blood surge out of the wound in her shoulder and a fresh wave of agony take over her. She lost her footing and fell the fifteen feet to the ground, unable to even grab anything to halt her fall; she was unconscious before she hit the ground.

***

"Did anybody see which way they went?" Fjord asked, looking off into the forest as the Nein collected themselves.

"No, b-but-" Jester stuttered, looking on the verge of tears. "When they dragged Beau away she looked really really hurt you guys."

"What about Yasha?" Molly cut in, rubbing the back of his head. "Did they take her too?"

"I think-" Nott cleared her throat as the eyes of the group settled on her. "I think she took off after Beau."

"Yasha is a talented tracker," Molly said reassuringly, putting an arm around Jester's shoulders. "If anyone can find Beau, it'll be her."

***

Beauregard was surprised to wake up. She was even more surprised to wake up in the strong arms of a Barbarian, smelling a faintly floral but musky smell. She was warm and cosy, and for now her shoulder wasn't hurting.

"'M I dead?" she managed to mumble through rubber lips, her eyes half-closed.

"No," came Yasha's stoic reply.

"You sure?" Beau said. "Just 'cause I'm waking up in the arms of an angel is all."

She was a little disappointed that in her haze she couldn't see Yasha blush, which she was certain would've looked beautiful. "I've told you before, Beauregard, I'm not an angel." Yasha replied.

"Close enough." Beau coughed, trying to the ignore the shivers that were overtaking her body. "Where're the others?" she mumbled.

Yasha glanced over her shoulder, eyes scanning the forest. "I don't know. When the wolves took you, I ran after them, but the others were still fighting. Here," she put a hand on Beau's lower back. "Try to sit up."

Beau groaned as Yasha helped her into a sitting position, supporting her back, her other hand on Beau's good shoulder.

"How bad is it?" Beau asked through gritted teeth, ignoring the flare of pain in the wound.

"It's, uh... it's not that bad." Yasha said, not looking Beau in the eye.

"You're a fuckin' terrible liar, Yasha." she panted. "Be honest with me."

"It's, uh, not great." Yasha admitted. "I did what I could but my healing only does a little bit. And I think..." she looked more closely at the wound, trying not to jolt it. "I think it may be infected."

"Awesome." Beau said, closing her eyes and slumping down a little tiredly.

"Beau?"

"Hm?"

"Try to stay awake." Yasha said softly. "We're going to have to start heading back to the others. Do you think you can stand?"

"Yeah, yeah." Beau's eyes blinked open, and everything around her was a little blurry. A wave of nausea threatened to consume her but she forced it down, clutching her arm to her side protectively. "Give me a second."

Yasha nodded patiently, pressing her hand gently against Beau's lower spine. Beau tried to focus on the feeling of that big, warm hand, holding her steady. She imagined that Yasha's hand was like a rock, holding her against the waves of pain that threatened to consume her. She gritted her teeth, focusing on that feeling and slowly beginning to get to her feet. Yasha helped her every step of the way, patient as ever, hands surprisingly soft on her exhausted body. As she stood, pain overcame her and temporarily she was sure that she was going to throw up, but Yasha put a reassuring hand on her sternum and said quietly, "If you need to throw up, that's fine."

"Ugh," Beau groaned, putting both hands on Yasha's shoulders, steadying herself. "F-fuck."

For a moment they stayed exactly like that, and Yasha held the human as delicately as though she were made of glass. Yasha's eyes were on the flitting between scanning the forest around them, and fixing Beau with a worried frown. Beau breathed in and out steadily until she felt some of her strength returning.

"Ok, I think I'm good."

"Good," Yasha said. "Because we need to get moving before night falls."

It was slow-going.

Beau was somewhat grateful that at least the stupid fucking wolf hadn't grabbed her by the leg, because then she would certainly be unable to walk. As it was, the mixture of the infection and blood loss was exhausting her, and every movement jolted the wound. Yasha kept a hand at the base of her spine, her eyes scanning the forest around them. Over the next hour, they made not nearly enough progress and darkness descended upon them quickly. Yasha found herself holding more and more of Beau's weight.

"We should stop and settle down for the night." she said, glancing up at the stars that were starting to peek through the canopy.

"I can keep going." Beau panted, forcing herself to stand more upright.

"No, you can't." Yasha said sharply. "It's ok, I'm sure the others will be able to track us while we sleep and they'll be here when you wake."

Beau finally allowed herself to slump a little, leaning more weight on Yasha and breathing in the reassuring smell of the Aasimar. "Ok." she said finally. Yasha set out her own bedroll. "Fuck, I'm cold," Beau grumbled as Yasha helped her down towards it.

Yasha raised a single eyebrow. "Beau, you're burning up."

"Cool." Beau mumbled, closing her eyes as she sat on the bedroll, leaning against a tree trunk.

"May I take a look at the wound before you go to sleep?" Yasha asked, her eyebrows down turned in worry. Beau just nodded, focusing on breathing evenly.

Yasha knelt down in front of her, her hands hesitating just in front of Beau's top.

"You're not gonna hurt me, Yash." Beau said quietly, her eyes still closed. There was a moment of hesitant silence, and her tired eyes flashed open. She reached out and took one of Yasha's big hands in her own, pulling it closer to her and resting it gently over the wound. "I trust you."

"Ok." Yasha bit her lip. "If it hurts to much, tell me and I'll stop." Beau nodded.

Yasha peeled back the Monk's blood-soaked sleeve. Beau gritted her teeth as it was peeled away from the wound but didn't say anything. Yasha looked more closely at the wound, her fingers staying a delicate centimetre from the open wound. The bite mark was deep, and each sizeable tooth-hole was starting to tinge green at the edges. Judging by Beau's temperature, the paleness of her complexion and the slight shiver that she was trying to suppress, Yasha decided that the wound was definitely infected.

"Have you got your healer's kit?" Yasha said shakily. "I think it's a wise idea to try to clean the wound."

Beau nodded, pulling the kit out of her pack and handing it over to Yasha. The barbarian opened it up, looking inside for anything to help treat the wound. There was a vial of some kind of clear liquid inside. "What's this?" she asked.

"Emergency alcohol." Beau said with a slight grin. "Which, I mean this is kind of an emergency."

"You're right."

"I am?"

"Alcohol is a good disinfectant."

Beau looked between the liquid and Yasha. "Yeah, it really is." she sighed in resignation.

"Here," Yasha settled in closer to Beau, their legs becoming somewhat tangled and her torso pressing gently against Beau's waist. She took a hold of Beau's hand. "Hold my shoulder," she said, setting the hand down on her off-hand shoulder. "Grab it as hard as you need."

"Yash, I won't-"

"It'll hurt." Yasha cut across. "Just... just try not to make noise, ok? It might attract more of them."

Beau nodded, paling further. Yasha pulled out some clean bandage and held the alcohol in a steady hand.

She didn't hesitate a second longer; the quicker this was over with, the better. As she worked to quickly and carefully clean the wound, she felt Beau's hand fist tightly into her shirt, the smaller woman letting out a pained grunt, then focusing on even breathing. She tried - and failed - to hide a small whimper as Yasha cleaned the deepest part of the wound, and had to fight the urge to push Yasha away. Yasha tried to ignore the small, pained sounds that Beau was making as she cleaned the wound, but each one pulled at her heart strings. She was finished not soon enough, wrapping the wound up tightly in gauze and bandage.

When she'd finished, Beau let out a shudder of a breath, her head tipping forward toward Yasha. The latter wrapped the human up in her arms, a hand holding the back of Beau's neck and pressing her face into Yasha's shoulder.

"It's ok," Yasha said, and she wasn't sure who she was trying to convince. "You're ok."

Beau didn't say anything, but eventually her breathing started to even as she passed out. Yasha stayed, holding her protectively against her chest. She couldn't think of moving and potentially disturbing the monk. She held Beau's weight against her, even when her body started to cramp and her eyes longed for rest.

She was still holding Beau to her chest when the rest of the Mighty Nein found them in the morning.


	4. Strong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Child abuse (past) 
> 
> Fjord & Beau friendship :) 
> 
> Beau's dad is the biggest of dicks and deserves to rot.

They really needed to learn to stop touching unknown objects that obviously had arcane nature. 

Fjord and Beau had been just so very interested by the vibrant pink doorway in the centre of the Xhorasian city. It stood out like a sore thumb and although they were supposed to be just asking around for information, it wouldn't hurt to take a look, right? Wrong.

"You think we should go and ask the others first?" Beau asked, somewhat hesitant as Fjord eagerly eyed the doorway.

He crinkled his nose. "Caleb'll just tell us to leave it alone. But I just... I just wanna know, right? We just take a quick peek, what's the worst that could happen?" 

"Don't jinx us like that." Beau pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Don't tell me it ain't eatin' up at you too." 

Beau glanced between the half-orc and the glowing pink doorway. "I mean, yeah, of course it fuckin' is." 

"Look, we'll be fine. Just a quick peek. You know that Caleb will try an' stop us from going in there." 

"Yeah." 

"But a quick look ain't gonna be that dangerous, right?" 

Beau looked at the door, torn between uneasiness and curiosity. "Alright." she said, before adding firmly, "But I'll go first and if anything goes wrong, you can deal with the others' disappointment."

He held up his hands defensively. Beau pulled out her bo, approaching the door slowly. It just looked like a standard wooden door, except that it was bright pink, suspended by nothing apparently, and glowing softly. She reached out for a duller pink, almost purple, doorknob and took it in her hand. She was poised like a cat, ready to flee at the first sign of danger, but nothing happened as she gripped the doorknob. She glanced at Fjord, raising an eyebrow, before turning the knob ninety degrees anti-clockwise. There was a soft click. 

Fjord winced, staring at the door. "No explosions?" 

"No explosions." Beau confirmed, keeping her eyes on it. "Should I open it?" 

"I mean... yeah, let's fuckin' crack 'er open." Fjord said with only the barest hint of hesitation. 

"Aright." Beau braced her legs, getting ready to bounce away at the first sign of danger. She bounced on her heels, tugging at the door. 

When the door opened, Fjord saw only light in the doorway. Beau's face went slack, her shoulders drooped. There was a glimmer reflecting off her blank eyes as she stared into the doorway. 

"Beau?" Fjord said, unnerved. He got not response. "Uh, let's close that shall we?" he reached past her to close the door but felt one of her arms grip tightly onto his upper arm. In an instant, he was thrust through the sparkling light of the doorway, feeling Beau stumble in behind him.

There was an almost audible  _pop_ and Fjord felt as though all the oxygen had been squeezed out of his body by a giant clamp. He reached out instinctively for Beauregard as he felt pressure building in his head, but he couldn't find her. There was just nothingness before his eyes, and as the pressure rose and rose, he expected at any moment for his head to just burst and for him to simply cease to exist, alone in this void. 

Then, just as suddenly as he was nowhere, he was somewhere. 

It was an expensive house, everything polished to an offending shine and the paintings on the wall seeming just like famous ones that Fjord had heard of. He was in a main foyer with shiny marble floors, and a big staircase winding upstairs. For such a big house - and Fjord could tell just looking around that it  _was_ a big house - it was far too empty and far too quiet. Everything was still and silent and beautiful.

Until it wasn't.

There was a flurry of movement and two kids came tumbling down the stairs. The first was a young boy, maybe seven or eight years old. He had the snotty face of a privileged human who had had everything handed to him already in life; his hair was cut smart and the expensive clothes he wore were tattered. The second kid was a girl who looked a couple of years younger than the boy - maybe five or six - with long, dark hair that had been curled, falling over her face. She had a pretty pink dress on but it seemed to have been mussed up and torn during the desperate scramble with the boy. 

As Fjord watched, she pinned him to the ground of the foyer, on his stomach, putting a hand on the back of his head. As she flicked her hair out of her face, Fjord immediately recognised with a shock the face of a very young Beauregard Lionett. Even at such a young age, the determined fire in her blue eyes was unmistakable. 

"Give it back, Lucas!" she shouted, grabbing the boy's hair. He started crying into the ground. "Give it back!" 

"What's going on here?" Fjord watched as two older men entered the foyer, seemingly roused by the commotion. It didn't take Fjord much to figure out that these were the kids' fathers. The first man looked just like his son, Lucas, and Beau's father looked - well, like an asshole. 

None of them seemed to notice Fjord, standing there in the foyer in shock.

"Beauregard!" he snapped and the girl jumped, looking up at him. "What do you think you're doing?! Get off of Lucas!" 

"But Daddy, he stole my favourite rock!" Beau said, starting to become a little hysterical herself. 

"It's a damned rock, Beauregard. You're hurting him, get up." 

As soon as Beau moved, Lucas got up and ran to his father, wailing. The man turned to look at Beau's dad, anger written all over his face. 

"You need to learn to control your little brat." he snarled, checking Lucas over. The boy was very obviously faking his tears, whimpering more than crying. "She just assaulted my little boy-!" 

"I am so sorry, Geoffrey-" Beau's father shot her a dirty look. "I will ensure that she is properly disciplined." 

" _Properly disciplined_ would be keeping her on a chain," Geoffrey snarled back. "She's never going to be a _proper lady_ and nobody will ever want to marry her... consider our deal off the table. You'll be hearing from our lawyers. Come, Lucas." he grabbed the boy's arm and started tugging him towards the front door. As they were leaving, Fjord saw the boy slip a small, blue stone out of his pocket and smirk at it, before obediently following his father. 

As they left, Beau's father, who'd been speechless up until this point, rounded on the little girl. She hunched up, a defiant look in her small, innocent eyes. 

"Go to your room." was all he said, fury clear in those four words. She stayed, jutting out her chin. " _Go to your room, Beauregard_." 

"I don't want to be a proper lady." the girl said defiantly, folding her arms and clearly fighting the urge to flee from him. 

His jaw visibly clenched, his nostrils flaring. "Yes, well I didn't want you to be a lady at all. We don't get what we want, Beauregard." there was a bitter tone to his voice and Fjord's heart broke a little as he saw tears welling up in the little girl's eyes. "The sooner you learn that life isn't fair, the easier it'll be for you. Now go to your room!" 

"I hate you!" Beau shouted, and there was fury in her tiny balled fists, but also fear. She tried to run past her dad and out the door but he easily grabbed her by the arm, holding her in place. 

"You have no sense of respect." he snarled. "I give you everything, and all I ask for in return is for you to not be such a fucking let-down!" 

"Let go." Beau said, and there were tears streaming down her face now as she tried to wriggle free. "Let go of me!" 

"I've had enough of your ignorance and disrespect, Beauregard." he snarled, visibly gripping the girl's arm tighter. "You  _will_ listen to me, and I  _will_ teach you respect." 

Fjord saw the man's hand raise and the young girl tense, and looked away. The sound of his hand hitting her flesh echoed throughout the silent foyer and Fjord felt his heart jump into his throat. He looked back to see the girl hardened, a deep red mark on her face. Her lip had stiffened and with her free hand, she wiped away the tears and glared up at her father with such a stern and determined look that Fjord couldn't believe the girl was so young. 

"I'll speak with your mother about your punishment," the man said, letting go of her. Fjord saw red marks on the girl's arm in the shape of a hand print. He turned his back to her, the look of anger and contempt in his face clear. "Now, go to your room." 

Beau's lip quivered just a little bit and for a moment Fjord thought that the girl was going to stand her ground and risk angering the man further. Then she turned her back to him, rubbing her arm where he'd grabbed her, and pelted up the stairs without a look back. 

Fjord stared in anger and confusion at the man. He stood pensively in the foyer, clenching his fist before letting it fall loose again. He sighed heavily and muttered under his breath, "Fucking lawyers." and then headed back to the room he'd been in before - presumably an office - and slamming the door shut behind himself. 

Before Fjord could properly process any of this, he felt that same sensation he had before - the sucking, like all the air was coming out of his body. The pressure, like his head was going to split, like a watermelon. And then, just like nothing had happened, he was back in the middle of the street where he and Beau had found the door - except there was no door. He was aware of Beauregard standing beside him, and it was like nothing had changed at all. 

And then, she collapsed in on herself, folding in two, choking down something that sounded suspiciously like a sob. 

"Beau?" Fjord reached over a hand to her, but she flinched away, moving away from him. He held up his hands in a defensive gesture, realising that something was wrong. Her eyes were still glassy, like they had been before, but there was wild fear in her eyes - real, genuine fear, something Beau was usually so immune to.

"Beau... what..." he didn't know where to begin. She shivered, falling down to her knees, and then to a sitting position, and wrapping her arms tightly around herself. The faraway look in her eyes was making Fjord more and more uneasy. Fjord crouched down in front of her, trying to look non-threatening and waved his hand in front of her face. She half-focused on him, her eyes still distant. 

"Beau?" he said as softly as he could. "Whatever you're seeing... it's not real, it's not happening." 

She put her hands over her ears and muttered something.

"Beau?" Fjord didn't know what to do. He couldn't leave her alone and go to get the others. He wouldn't let her face her demons alone. But he didn't know what he could do to help.

"I hate you," she was muttering quietly over and over again under her breath. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you." she pressed her hands closer down over her ears and closed her eyes and Fjord saw the vulnerable girl who he'd seen just a minute before.

"Hey, Beau," Fjord tried a different approach. "Your dad... he's not here. He's not going to hurt you. I - I won't let him hurt you." she glanced up, seeming to notice him for the first time. Her hands fell away from her ears. " _We_ aren't going to let him hurt you, ok? You're safe."

"F-Fjord?" she took a shaky breath. He nodded and reached out a hand; she allowed him to place it on her shoulder. That was all it took - in an instant she'd buried her head in his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him. After overcoming his shock, Fjord put his arms around her and gathered her into a comforting hug. He could feel her shaking with silent sobs and feel his shirt growing wet from her tears. 

They stayed like that for twenty minutes. Fjord waited patiently for her to gather herself; Beau wasn't prone to allowing herself to be vulnerable, he wasn't going to shut her down now that that was happening. Finally, she pulled away from him, looking away and brushing tears off her face.

"Thanks." she muttered, her voice so quiet and uncertain that he felt his stomach twist. 

"Not a problem." he replied softly. "Wanna talk about it at all?" 

"No." she replied sharply. She went to get up, but stopped halfway, putting a hand on her head and letting out a groan. "Ugh, fuck." 

"Y'alright?" Fjord reached out a hand to steady her but she flinched away from him again. 

"Sorry-" she huffed to herself. "Yeah, just my head is fuckin' pounding." 

"How do ya feel, other than that?"

"Like sunshine and rainbows." 

"I think whatever that doorway was-" 

"Fucking bullshit." she cut in. 

"Whatever it was, it mighta scrambled your noodle a bit." he suggested. "We should get Jester or Caleb to look you over." 

"I'm fine." 

Fjord shifted his weight to his other foot as Beau got slowly to her feet. "Beau, you can't -" he sighed, watching as she put up the diamond-hard mask that she always wore. "You can't just shut me out. Now I understand if you don't wanna talk about what happened an' what just happened. But there could be lasting effects. We don't know what effects that magical pink doorway will have..." she didn't reply. "It's ok to not be ok, you know. It's ok to feel like crap." 

Beau clenched her jaw a little, not looking at him. "That was the first time."

"That he...?" 

Beau nodded. "He wanted more than anything to discipline me, to make me obedient. When he realised that it wasn't working, he sent me off to the Cobalt Soul. Took him enough time to figure out that... that fuckin' hitting me weren't working." 

"I'm sorry, Beau." Fjord sighed, wanting to comfort her but not entirely knowing how. 

She shrugged. "Thought I was over it but I guess I'm not. Still as weak as ever." 

"You're... you're not weak, Beau. You're one of the strongest people I know." when she rolled her eyes, he elaborated. "I mean it. Not many people could go through what you'be been through and come out so determined, so fierce. You're one hell of a warrior and I can't fault you for that. There's no one I'd rather have by my side." 

"Yeah." 

He could tell by the look in her eyes that she didn't believe him. Maybe with time. Maybe one day she'd figure out that her dad was wrong about her. But probably not today.

"C'mon, let's get you back to the others." Fjord said softly. "You look like shit." 

"Thanks man." Beau said, attempting a grin but managing none of her usual confidence. Her face turned serious. "A-and thank you, again. For you what you said. I'd never let alone hurt you either, you know." 

"I know." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this started off as a radically different idea and it just kind of became its own thing, and honestly fjord and beaus friendship makes my heart hurt, they would honestly do anything for each other.


	5. Strong - Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beau & jester h/c. Can be read as Shippy if you want 
> 
> TW blood, injury

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was something more like my original idea for the last chapter that somehow completely changed. I rolled a d8 to decide which two characters would feature, which is something I might continue doing int he future :) Hope y'all enjoy

Jester was strong. 

Her strength was nearly on par with Yasha's. The unassuming Tiefling was secretly hiding guns that could easily deadlift any member of the Mighty Nein. She could probably carry Yasha, bridal-style. She'd proven time and time again that despite her sweet exterior, she was packing enough sheer strength to knock anyone clean out. 

Beauregard was not strong. 

Although her body was all muscle, it was toned, sharp muscle designed for dexterity more than strength. She wasn't strong; in fact it was her weakest point, something she didn't like to admit to the others. Whenever she was fighting, she used her unique training to use your body with speed and agility, not brute strength. 

If their situation was reversed, there wouldn't be a problem here. 

Beau had watched, unable to do anything to help, as the sickly green ray of curse hit Jester straight in the chest. The tiefling had frowned angrily at the mage for a moment, before beginning to bleed out of her nose and collapse on the floor. Beau had been too far away to stop it.

She knew how some spells worked; there were times where if you attacked the caster, the spell dissipated. However, as Beau tore the mage apart with blow after blow, there was no reaction from the still Jester on the floor. It didn't take Beau long to tear the mage apart - he was squishy, kind of like Caleb - and when the battlefield fell still and silent, she turned towards the unconscious tiefling. 

"Jester?" she ran over and came crashing to her knees in front of her friend. She quickly checked her breathing, checked her pulse. Jester had only taken that one spell during the fight, surely it wasn't strong enough to hurt her this bad? "Jester, hey, c'mon," she said, lifting the tiefling's head in her hand. "Get up, c'mon, you're fine." 

Jester didn't respond. Beau pulled out her healer's kit but couldn't see any immediate wounds that could be tended. She wiped the small amount of blood from under Jester's nose, and checked her temperature. Apart from the small nosebleed, and the fact that she wouldn't wake up, Jester seemed absolutely fine. 

The two of them had been separated from the group when the mage had used some kind of teleportation spell. They were in the middle of a field, nothing on all sides except for more grass. Beau pulled out the one healing potion she had on her, putting a hand over her bloodied ribs. As always, being in thick of things meant that she'd taken a good number of hits. She was certain that at least two of her ribs were broken, and she could taste blood in her mouth. She uncorked the potion, glancing down at Jester. 

"Fuck," was all she said, before tipping Jester's head back and feeding her the potion. Jester's cheeks turned a slightly more vibrant shade of blue, but other than that, there was no change. "Come on, Jester, I need you to fuckin' wake up." Beau said desperately, cradling the Tiefling's face. Again, nothing. 

Beau looked around. They were in the middle of nowhere and just a few hours away from sunset. She didn't know what was wrong with Jester, but her best hope was getting her back to Caduceus, who'd hopefully be able to  _fix her_. 

"Alright, Jester," Beau said, wiping the back of her hand on her head to wipe away the sweat that was beginning to gather. "I'm gonna get you back to the others, alright? We're gonna get you back to the others, and Deuces is gonna fix you right up." 

She but her arms around Jester and, as carefully as she could, lifted her friend into a Fireman's carry.

"Fuck, Jester," she huffed, immediately feeling the strain on her inexperienced muscles. "You need to lay off the doughnuts." 

She picked up her feet and started walking in the direction that the sun was setting. She hoisted Jester up a little more, with a huff. They would be going for a long while. 

***

It'd been two hours.

Beau's clothes were drenched in sweat and her legs were shaking. She could feel exhaustion dragging at her and night was beginning to fall. She stopped briefly, laying Jester on the ground and sitting, huffing. She drank heavily from her waterskin, and then poured some in Jester's mouth. The tiefling still showed no sign of waking, no sign of consciousness, no sign of injury. Beau was getting more and more agitated and concerned by Jester's unresponsiveness. 

"Come on, Jes, just wake up." Beau said, exhaustion making her more emotional than usual. She could feel tears pricking at her eyes. "If you don't wake up, who're my gonna have as my room mate? I can't sleep alone again. I can't..." she felt her throat clench up. "I can't be alone again. You're my best friend, I can't lose you."

She pulled out her healer's kit and tended her own wounds quickly. Then, she put the kit away and stood up, ignoring the protests of her tired body. 

"I'm not gonna let you fuckin' leave me, Jes." 

*** 

They were all starting to get concerned. 

Right in the middle of the fight with the mage, he'd used some kind of teleportation magic, taking him and everyone within thirty feet of him and vanishing. Who happened to be within thirty feet? Beau and Jester. 

"Can't you track 'em or somethin'?" Fjord asked Caleb impatiently. 

"I have told you five times already, Fjord," Caleb retorted. "There's nothing I can do. I've no idea where they went." 

They had been searching for close to five hours now, to no avail. They'd searched Alfield, with Bryce's help, and were started to spread the surrounding area. 

"I'm sure they are fine," Yasha told Fjord reassuringly. "They are both formidable fighters, and Jester has healing spells if anything goes wrong."

"Didn't you see the state Beau was in, though?" Nott said anxiously. "I hope she's ok." 

Silence befell the group and they continued searching. A guard came running up to their small group, approaching Bryce with a slight bow of the head.

"Uh, Watchmaster Bryce, we think we may have spotted the human heading towards the town from the East." he said. 

"The human?" Yasha said. 

"What about Jester?" Nott cut in. 

"Take us to where you saw her." Bryce said quickly, indicating for the guard to lead the way. They all jogged for ten minutes to get to where the guard had apparently spotted Beau. He pointed into the distance, where a figure was moving unsteadily towards the town. 

"Holy shit." Fjord said as the figure stumbled a little. 

Without another pause, the group ran at full tilt towards the figure, Yasha easily taking the lead. As they got closer, details became increasingly clearer. 

The figure they'd initially noticed was Beau. Her clothes were covered in blood, her face unusually pale and sweaty. She looked exhausted, barely managing to put one foot in front of the other. When they got closer, they realised that Beau was carrying Jester in a fireman's carry over her shoulders, staggering slightly under the weight of the unconscious tiefling. 

As the group got within thirty feet of them, Beau seemed to notice them with a look of relief passing over her face, before she collapsed down onto her knees. Yasha quickly approached, disentangling the tiefling and laying her to rest on the ground. Caduceus immediately began checking her over as Yasha put a hand on either side of Beau's face. 

"Beauregard?" she said, feeling her heart flutter slightly when the human slumped down towards her, burying her face into Yasha's neck.

"Jester... sleeping..." Beau mumbled, her voice barely audible. "... Spell." 

"It's ok, you're fine." Yasha said, running a hand through Beau's undercut. "Jester'll be fine. Caduceus will help her." 

"Looks like some kind of curse," Caduceus said as the others caught up, standing around the group. "I think I can..." he rested a hand on her forehead, closing his eyes and muttering a prayer to the Wildmother. There was a moment of concerned silence, then Jester's eyes fluttered and opened.

"Wha-?" she managed, looking around at them all. "What happened?" 

"I'm not entirely sure," Caduceus said. "But Beau carried you back here." 

Jester sat up, shaking a little, looking over at Yasha, who was cradling Beau to her. "Beau?" she said. When Beau didn't reply immediately, she scrambled over. 

"I don't have any spells left." Caduceus said quietly. 

"It's ok," Jester sat by Beau's side, placing a hand on the monk's forehead. Beau shivered as the healing magic passed through her, opening her eyes briefly to look up at Jester. 

"Thanks, Jessie." she mumbled. Her face was void of colour, her eyes barely open and dull. She was shaking all over, but she was smiling a little. 

"Beau did you carry me all the way back here?" 

"Yeah." 

"Oh, Beau!" Jester half-pulled the human from Yasha's arms, wrapping her up tightly and pressing her face into her friend's shoulder. "You are really a lot stronger than you think you are, you know!" 

"Mmhmm." Beau said, closing her eyes. Her body was exhausted and she felt like she could sleep for a month, but at least Jester was awake. Jester was alive. Jester was safe. 

"You are my very best friend in the whole world!" Jester said, finding herself crying a little as she held the human. "I love you, Beau." 

"Lu' you too, Jes." Beau said, pressing her face into Jester's shoulder. She passed out being held by her best friend, the smell of pastries and perfume a sweet lullaby for her as she faded into a deep, dreamless sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GEAS 
> 
> 5th-level enchantment  
> Casting Time 1 minute  
> Range 60 feet  
> Components V  
> Duration 30 days  
> You place a command on a creature that you can see, forcing it to do or refrain from doing some action or activity you decide. The command can be anything except something that would obviously cause the target to die.
> 
> If the creature can't understand you, this spell has no effect. If it can understand you, it must succeed a Wisdom save or become charmed by you. While the creature is charmed, it takes 5d10 psychic damage each time it does something that directly counters to your instructions, but no more than once each day.
> 
> You can end the spell early by using an action to dismiss it. A Remove Curse, Greater Restoration, or Wish spell also ends it.
> 
> ... as I understand it, Geas could be used as an extended sleep spell if the command was to either 'stay asleep' or 'don't wake up'.


	6. Cuddle Puddle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't even know what im doing anymore, im just making it up as i go along. 
> 
> jester/fjord/caduceus if you squint i guess. 
> 
> enjoy :)

The fight had been exhausting. 

The Mighty Nein all stumbled into the inn, leaning on each other. Caduceus came in first, stooping lower than usual. Next was Caleb, leaning on a heavily beaten Beauregard. Then, Yasha carrying Nott, who was passed out. Finally, Fjord and Jester stepped through the doorway, both of them holding onto each other. 

"I'll get a round." Beau said, dropping Caleb off in a little booth to the side of the tavern. The rest of them slumped down, Yasha carefully placing Nott in Caleb's lap. 

"Fuck, you guys." Jester sighed, resting her head on the table. "That was bad." 

"I feel like there ain't a square inch of my body that ain't bruised." Fjord commented, rubbing the back of his head. 

"Let's look at the positives," Caduceus said with a comforting smile. "We're all alive, it could have been much worse." 

"We're lucky to all be alive." Yasha commented, glancing over at the bar to Beauregard, who had gone down three times in the fight and very nearly bled out. 

"Ja," Caleb said quietly. "That was too close."

"Are you still hurting?" Jester asked. 

"I think we all are, Jes." Fjord commented. 

"I don't have any spells left." Jester's frown was adorable and heartbreaking in equal measure. 

"Strong ale." Beau slammed down drinks on the table in front of everyone, except for Caduceus and Jester. "The barkeep is gonna bring over you two's milk." she sat down. Nott sniffed a little in her sleep and jerked awake at the smell of the alcohol. She lifted the tankard and slammed the drink back. 

"To that big fucker and his goddamn slam attack!" Beau raised her drink and Yasha, Jester, and Fjord also raised theirs half-heartedly. 

For a while, they were all silent, drinking heavily from their tankards. Caleb eventually pulled out a book, flicking through it. Jester leaned heavily on Fjord, closing her eyes a little, and he put an arm around her shoulder. Beau unwrapped her hand wraps, flexing her bruised and potentially broken knuckles. 

Frumpkin absently wandered around the table, meowing at the others for a bit for affection, before settling down on Yasha's lap. 

"I'm going to bed." Jester finally announced, standing. She looked exhausted and on the verge of tears. 

"I'll come with you," Caduceus said, also standing. "I feel pretty tired, I could use some sleep." 

The others watched as the two Clerics headed upstairs. Caleb shivered briefly, before turning back to his book. It didn't escape Nott's notice. 

"Are you ok, Caleb?" 

"Yes." Caleb said instantly. "Yes, just today was... worrisome." 

"Do you want to head up to bed?" 

"Eh, no." Caleb said, his eyes dark. They could all guess what kind of dreams would befall the squishy human in the night. "Not just yet. But you can head up if you want." 

"No, I'll stay with you." 

Silence descended once again. Fjord nursed his drink, staring into the cup. He remembered the fight all too well; the two giants slamming down their clubs on his friends. Beau falling, laying crumpled on the ground. Jester screaming to Caduceus for help. Caleb throwing fireballs from across the battle-field, his eyes as wide as saucers. 

"How are you feeling, Beau?" Fjord asked. 

"Like shit." Beau drained the rest of her drink, then grabbed the one that Fjord had been nursing. When that one went down again, she swayed a little and leaned her head on Yasha's shoulder. Yasha instinctively tensed but didn't move away. "You?" 

"Yeah, pretty much the same." Fjord replied. "I think I'm gonna head up. Do you want me to grab you a round before I go up?" 

Beau just nodded, closing her eyes. Fjord glanced at Yasha for confirmation and she just nodded. 

"Caleb...?" 

Caleb seemed to genuinely think about it for a moment. "Yes, please." 

Fjord went to the bar and ordered four drinks (he didn't need to ask Nott if she wanted one), then headed upstairs. When he opened the door to his and Caduceus' room, he found it to be empty. With a slight frown, he went across the hall to Jester's room and knocked on the door. 

No response. 

He opened the door, beginning to panic, only to find the two of them curled up on Jester's bed. Jester seemed to be shaking or sobbing, her face buried in Caduceus' fur. Caduceus himself had his arms wrapped around Jester, his eyes closed.

"Jester?" Fjord whispered. She shifted but didn't respond. After a moment, Fjord realised that she was asleep, probably experiencing a nightmare. "Hey, Jes, wake up." he said softly, sitting on the bed beside her and resting a hand on her shoulder and shaking her gently. 

Her eyes flashed open and Fjord saw tear-tracks on her cheeks. 

"Fjord?" she whimpered, her voice quiet and panicky. 

"Hey, it's ok, it was just a dream, Jes." he said soothingly, drawing her up to his chest and running his hand through her hair. 

"It was horrible, Fjord!" she said. "Everyone was dying and I didn't have any spells and I couldn't help and there was nothing I could do!" 

"Shh, it's ok," he said softly. "I'm here, Jes. We're all here. We're all alive... you kept us alive." 

"One day I won't be able to, Fjord." 

Fjord didn't have a reply for that. "D'you want me to stay with you?" 

She nodded into his chest and laid down. Fjord self-conscious laid on her other side, the single not really big enough for the three of them. They had to curl up close in order to all fit. Fjord was too comfortable to be embarrassed about sleeping so close to Caduceus and Jester. 

Meanwhile, downstairs, Beau was five drinks down and looking ready for a fight, despite the beating she'd taken earlier. 

"You should probably stop drinking." Yasha said, attempting to pull the tankard from the bruised human. 

"Fuck off, Yasha." she snarled, trying - and failing - to keep a hold of the drink. "You're not even here enough to know how much alcohol is too much alcohol. No alcohol is too much alcohol." 

"Yeah!" Nott agreed, drinking heavily from her flask. Caleb glanced up, taking in his intoxicated friends. Then, he stood and put his book away. 

"I am going to bed." he said. 

"I'll come." Nott said, closing her flask. 

As the two of them headed upstairs, another patron of the bar shoulder-checked Caleb, anger flashing in front of the drunker man's eyes. 

"Hey, watch where you're going!" he snapped. 

"Sorry," Caleb said instantly, almost on instinct, even though it wasn't his fault. Beau was already standing, heading over to them. 

For a moment it seemed as though he'd leave it alone, and then his eyes found Nott. "Is that a fuckin' goblin?" 

"No!" Nott shrieked, hiding behind Caleb. "I'm just a little halfling girl!" 

Beau rushed up instantly, standing between the man and Caleb. 

"You'd better fuck off." she said, her voice full of authority despite the slight slur to it. Yasha just put her head in her hands, where she was sitting at the table. 

"Yeah?" the guy laughed. Now that Beau was closer, she could see that the man wasn't human, seeming to be a half-ogre or something. He stood easily two feet above Beau, his body all muscle and his clothes slightly tattered. He leaned in close to her, washing her with alcohol breath. "Goblin killed my wife yaknow. You shouldn't be defending that scum." 

Alcohol fuelling her already reckless thoughts, Beau took a swing at him. The blow went wide, the guy easily stepping aside to avoid the fist. Unfazed, Beau tried to follow up with an uppercut to his stomach, which was absorbed by a breastplate he was wearing. 

"Fucker." Beau snarled. The half-ogre snarled at her, throwing a punch back at her which she managed to side-step. The guy snarled, his face growing a little red, before taking grabbing a bottle off a nearby table and attempting to hit Beau with it. The bottle shattered over her head and she snarled at him angrily. 

Yasha slowly stood up, watching as Beau swayed on the spot. The human wasn't in a particularly good condition when they'd entered the bar; she certainly wasn't in the position to be starting fights. 

Beau struck back, throwing her fist into the man's jaw and watching him stagger backwards. She followed up by kicking him in the shins, and he tried to right himself, wiping blood off his chin. 

"Fuck off Caleb, I got this asshole." Beau said with a snarl. 

Caleb looked around at the bar. He didn't want to start throwing magic in what otherwise seemed like a normal bar fight. He wasn't very useful in a fist fight, and when he glanced over at Yasha, she nodded in confirmation. He scooped Nott up in his arms and headed upstairs. 

When he got up there, he heard loud snoring coming from Jester's room and decided to check in on the tiefling before going to bed. He frowned when he saw Jester, Fjord and Caduceus curled up on one of the beds. 

"Safety in numbers." Nott said quietly. 

"Ja," Caleb said, clenching Nott a little tighter to him. 

"We can stay here, if you want." Nott said. "With the others. It feels safer." 

"If you want," Caleb tried to brush it off, but he was keen on the idea. "Ja, that's a good idea." 

He set Nott down and the two of them began getting out their bedrolls between the two single beds. Caleb could hear Fjord snoring softly and the reassuring sound of his friends' breathing as he and Nott curled up, slowly drifting to sleep. 

Back downstairs, Yasha approached where Beau and the guy were squaring off. 

She watched, feeling her heart jump as the man took the momentary distraction to land a solid blow in Beau's jaw, making her stagger backwards, blood dripping down her face. A kick to her shins and she collapsed to her knees. He drew back the bloody, sharp-tipped bottleneck he'd broken over Beau's head. 

Yasha stepped between them, and the man thrust the sharp glass into Yasha's upper arm. Yasha didn't flinch, just stared at him calmly and said, "You should leave." 

He snorted and spit blood on the floor. "She threw the first punch." he snarled, glancing past Yasha's hulking frame at Beau. "Don't pick fights you can't win, pretty." 

"Come here and I'll show you winning a fight." 

He smirked, but looked up at Yasha, and the greatsword on her back. "Nah, I think yer girlfriend here wouldn't want me to break that pretty face of yours."

"Fuck off." Beau went for the guy but Yasha held her back, smelling the intoxicating scent of alcohol on her. The guy turned her back to him and headed back to the bar. "You don't know, man!" Beau shouted at his retreating back. "You don't - you don't fucking mess with my family! You don't - you don't fucking hurt them, I don't let you fucking hurt them, I'll... I'll..." Beau's voice died in her throat and Yasha could've sworn she heard a half-sob on the monk's breath. 

She swept Beau closer to herself, before scooping her up into her arms. 

"Let's get you to bed." was all she said. 

"You could take me to dinner first." Beau slurred as the barbarian headed for the stairs. "Yasha? Yash?" 

"Yes, Beauregard?" 

"Why did you stop me?" Beau said, not putting enough anger and steel into her voice. "I had 'im on the ropes." 

"You are intoxicated and wounded," Yasha said, glancing down at her. "You're reckless."

"So?" Beau mumbled into Yasha's chest.

"If you get hurt, Jester and Caduceus have no more spells to heal you." 

"I can handle it." Beau replied. Yasha just sighed and didn't reply to that. She wasn't getting anywhere with Beau while she was so heavily drunk. 

"Yash?" Beau said. Yasha just made a noise of confirmation, coming to the top of the stairs. "I don't have five gold." 

Yasha rolled her eyes. "This one's on the house. You probably won't even remember it when you awake in the morning." 

"Not gonna forget somethin' like this." Beau muttered, burrowing her face in Yasha's arm. 

Yasha opened the door to Beau's room, confused to see the rest of the Mighty Nein asleep there. Three figures huddled on Jester's bed, and she noticed with a small smile the way Jester was spooning Fjord. Caduceus curled up on Jester's other side, his face between her shoulders. 

On the floor, Caleb and Nott was curled up in two bedrolls. 

Yasha looked down at Beau, as the human's breathing evened out. There was an unnaturally calm look on her face, her usually angry expression faded. Yasha laid her down carefully on the bed, trying to make her comfortable and flinching when Beau let out a small, pained moan. 

She covered Beau in a blanket and then headed for the door. 

"Stay." the voice was quiet and soft and Yasha thought for a moment she'd imagined it. When she looked back, Jester was staring at her with big blue eyes. 

"I, uh..." Yasha looked around at the assembled group. 

"We need you, Yasha." she said softly, her eyes big and sad. "Without you today, everything would have gone much, much worse.  _Beau_ really needs you too, you know?" 

Yasha glanced at the sleeping monk with a heavy sigh. "I know." 

"You should go to bed." Jester laid back down probably, settling between Caduceus and Fjord again. "Today was hard, you need your sleep." 

Yasha weighed it up for a moment. She couldn't deny that something very deep and very primal in her wanted to nothing more than to go over to the bed and hold Beau and keep her safe. Another part of her was terrified, and guilty because she hadn't cared so much for someone so deeply since Zuala had died. 

And then she remembered earlier that very day, seeing Beau for the third time that day, more of the monk's blood on the floor than in her body. Her face had been ashen, her body limp and lifeless, her face so placated. Yasha remembered the anger coursing through her and - even more scary - the absolute terror, the thought that Beauregard was dead this time and not coming back. 

She snapped back to the present, seeing Beau toss and turn in her sleep. The monk was obviously having some kind of nightmare, some kind of terror plaguing her. After everything they'd all been through today, she couldn't blame her. 

Without thinking too much into it, Yasha hurried over to the bed and sat down. After a single moment's hesitation, she laid down beside Beauregard, pulling some of the blankets over herself. Beau threw herself over Yasha suddenly, her face buried into the Barbarian's shoulder. 

Yasha blinked, smelling the alcohol on Beau's breath and feeling her heartbeat pounding against Yasha's side. She could hear the rest of the Nein breathing and snoring quietly around her. As she settled down for the night, she found herself falling asleep easier than usual. 

There was a lot of comfort in having her family around her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rolled stats for Drunk bar guy: 
> 
> AC: 17  
> MHP: 35
> 
> Str: 10  
> Dex: 12  
> Con: 13  
> Int: 12  
> Wis: 16  
> Cha: 17


	7. How Things Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In an alternate timeline, Beau brings Yasha through with her. 
> 
> SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 69 - WATCH IT BEFORE YOU READ
> 
> M9 feels and Beauyasha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As someone who plays a monk, I had the idea that Beau could've grappled Yasha and still maybe gotten out of there. This is that I guess. 
> 
> (How it would work: Swolregard grapples Yasha with action, bonus action Step Of the Wind disengage and uses her movement to get through the door - the biggest issue of this obviously being that Beau got stuck in the door and had to use her action to get through the space)
> 
> Obviously, there's an element of chance with Dnd so it's impossible to say for sure if this would've worked, it's just my two cents. Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy !! :) Feedback is very welcome.

It was a split-second decision. 

Fjord wriggled out of Beau's grip and scampered off through the door. The Laughing Hand and Yasha advanced on Beau, and she took some blows but stayed upright, despite the blood pouring down her torso from the wound in her chest, despite the panic clawing through her. Her eyes scanned the others, standing in the doorway, gesturing her over. Saw Caduceus' hand reaching out with a healing spell, just in case she dropped. And then, before she could react, Caleb's wall of fire disappeared, and she could feel herself beginning to grow larger until she was the same height as the Laughing Hand. 

In an instant, her mind was made up. 

Knowing that it could go horribly wrong, she reached out and wrapped her arms around Yasha, grabbing her in a restraining headlock so that her friend couldn't swipe at her, no matter how hard she tried. She slipped out of the Laughing Hand's range, dragging Yasha back towards the door and ignoring the larger woman's ample struggle. When Beau got to the door, it was clear that she was too big to fit through, so she pushed Yasha through ahead of her and scrambled to get through. She felt the doors closing in on her, wincing at the crushing sensation. With one final effort, she dragged her body through, ignoring the way the doors cut into her bones. 

Before she was even properly free of the doors, Yasha was on her, The Skin Carver slicing through the air. It struck Beau's shoulder, but she managed to avoid most of the damage caused by it. 

"Little help!" she shouted as the doors slammed shut behind her. The sound of the Laughing Hand slamming on it quickly followed as Beau dodged out of the way of two more of Yasha's strikes. Caleb cursed under his breath in Zemnian, drawing his hand back and muttering the incantation for the  _Sleep_ spell, something he didn't use often enough. He cast the spell as strong as he could, and watched as Yasha's movements became sluggish, before finally she staggered and dropped, Beau catching her just before she dropped to the floor. Jester came over, grabbing Yasha's other arm and they each put one of their shoulders. 

"We need to move." Fjord said lowly. 

"The spell lasts a minute." Caleb said. "We need a contingency for when she awakes." 

" _No_ ," Fjord snapped. "She turned on us. We need to leave her. Let's go." 

"We're not leaving her!" Jester shouted indignantly, tears drying on her face. She hefted Yasha's arm onto her shoulder a little more, muttering an incantation under her breath. She fumbled with her components for a moment, and a few seconds, Yasha's form began to shrink and move until she was a small black and white weasel. Beau reached down, scooping Yasha up and putting her sleeping form in her pocket. Another deep rumble, and a slight shaking of the chamber and they were all reminded of the urgency of the situation. 

They all started pelting as fast as they could through the series of rooms, stopping only briefly to tie ropes around themselves as they crossed  _that fucking bridge_. It wasn't long before the Weasel in Beau's pocket started squirming and trying to bite at her. When they were safely across the bridge, she took Yasha out of her pocket and held her as tightly as she dared, ignoring the occasional nip of flat teeth. The last thing she wanted was for Yasha to bite a hole through her pants pocket and flee. 

Up the stairs. Beau was grateful that she'd destroyed that fucking mechanism before, because the seven of them would potentially be destroyed by that right now by the lightning. Through the corridors, through the rooms and tunnels that Nott and Jester were navigating expertly. And then... daylight. The six of them just stood around for a moment, panting a little and eyeing the space they were in. 

"What the fuck." Fjord muttered. 

"Why did we go in there?" Beau contributed. 

It wasn't long before they were dissolving into arguments - Fjord was angry and said that they should leave Yasha behind for betraying them. Caduceus was trying to calm everyone down. Jester was in between defending Yasha and sobbing. Everyone had questions, and nobody had answers. They had no plan. 

Their arguing was cut short when Yasha returned to her normal Aasimar form. Before anyone could react, she grabbed a hold of Beau, holding the Skin Carver at the smaller woman's throat. They all froze instantly, Yasha staring at them with wide, wild eyes. 

"Put the medallion back in." she said darkly, looking to Jester. There was a rumbling anger beneath her words - the anger of losing a loved one. Whether real or not, she was feeling grief for Oban.

Jester trembled a little, backing up a step and looking at the others. "Yasha, please-" 

Before she could finish the thought, Beau was free in a flurry of movement, wrapping her flexible body around Yasha and dragging her to the ground. They struggled and scrambled for a moment, before Beau eventually wrapped her legs around Yasha's waist and arms around her throat, not tight enough to cut off the air flow, but tight enough to keep her restrained. 

"Stop!" Beau panted, grimacing as Yasha elbowed her hard in the side. Yasha glanced up, seeing the rest of the Nein with attacks ready - Caleb's fingertips burning, Nott's crossbow fixed on her, Fjord with his Falchion in one hand and eldritch energy building in the other, Caduceus and Jester both getting ready to cast. After a long, tense moment, her body relaxed slightly, but Beau didn't let go. 

"Y'okay?" Fjord hummed said quietly, eyes briefly starting to Beau before looking back at Yasha.

Beau coughed, spit blood onto the ground, and rumbled, "Fuckin' great." 

"Yasha," Caleb said confidently, drawing the Barbarian's attention. "Beau's going to let go of you. If you try to attack any of us, we will beat you to it,  _ja_? You look hurt, and you know what we can do. We won't hesitate to put you down if you put us in any further danger. Are we clear?" 

Yasha didn't reply, but just nodded once, a dark stormcloud brewing in her heterochromatic eyes. After a moment, looking to the others for confirmation, Beau released Yasha, scrambling away so that Yasha couldn't grab her again. 

"The swords." Fjord said expectantly as Yasha's body tensed. She looked around at them once more, weighing her options, before throwing her blade at his feet. She pulled out the Magician's Judge and tossed that on the floor too. 

"Has anyone got rope left?" Beau said, her voice gruff. Yasha half-turned to her, a snear building on her face. The others started looking through their packs, but Beau kept her eyes on Yasha, ready in her defensive stance. 

"You might have rope." Yasha said, her voice dark and cold. Beau just shook her head. 

"I'm not that easy to trick, Yash." somehow, the nickname made her tongue heavy with what felt like poison. It wasn't right. This sneering, grinning person in front of her wasn't Yasha. It wasn't  _her_ Yasha. It wasn't  _their_ Yasha. 

Yasha tilted her head to the side, amusement in her eyes as though Beau had said something ironic. Beau ignored the bait, keeping her hands raised in loose fists. Eventually, the manacles from the Iron Shepherds were produced. Yasha's eyes darkened, and Jester didn't stop apologising as Caduceus chained her up. 

"I'm so sorry, Yasha," she was saying softly, her voice full of emotion, and on the verge of tears again. "I know this is hard, but Oban is in your head, you know? We'll get you back." 

Yasha pursed her lips, her jaw clenching as her muscles tensed. Beau put a hand on her shoulder, half-reassuring, half-pushing her forward. Yasha's nostrils flared, but she followed the direction, heading towards the Moorbounders as Caduceus brought them over. 

"How are we going to do this?" Nott asked, raising an eyebrow. Fjord eyed Yasha, clearly restraining himself from saying once again that they should leave her behind. 

"Well, I'm happy to have Yasha with me again." Caduceus said. "If you're happy with that?" 

Yasha didn't reply. 

"I'll take that as a yes." 

"What if she attacks you while we're riding?" Fjord asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Silence descended on the group again. "I'll ride with you, too." Beau said finally. Jester would be the obvious choice, being the strongest (she could keep Yasha in check), but she had her own Moorbounder to direct. 

They all set up, Caduceus getting comfortably on the front of his Moorbounder and the others climbing on their own. Beau offered Yasha a hand getting on the Bounder, since her ankles were shackled, but Yasha just ignored her, using her forearms to hoist her weight up, before sitting side-on on the Moorebounder. Unfazed, Beau climbed up onto Clarabelle behind Yasha, putting one hand on her shoulder, and grabbing the manacle chains with the other. 

"Don't try anything." she said gruffly. Yasha just snarled at her, baring her teeth as a primal growl built in her throat. Beau tried to ignore how much it shook her down to the core to hear that sound - a sound she'd heard Yasha make only a couple of times - directed to her. 

"Everybody ready?" Caduceus asked over his shoulder. They all agreed, so they set off. 

Yanich went first, Caleb and Nott putting themselves a good distance from Caduceus, who travelled in the middle. On Yarnball, at the back, Jester and Fjord were both in a stony silence. 

Not knowing what they were going to do, or what they'd just helped unleash, the Mighty Nein rode in defeat towards Bazzoxan. 

The only consolation that the seven of them had, was that at least they'd all made it out alive. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk if this could've happened or what would've happened if it did, especially as I'm sure Ashley is leaving the show for a bit. It was just a theory I had, and given the way the dice were playing up, there's a high chance that if Marisha had decided to stay, Beau would be dead. So, that's worth thinking about. Also, I'm not entirely sure who has what spells/slots left so idk if Jester could cast polymorph, but I don't recall her using any 4th spells. Anyway... I have actually a couple ideas for a second part for this wee one-shot if anyone is interested. 
> 
> But, uh, as always I hope you enjoyed this! Have the loveliest of days, and stay Nerdy my friends :-)


	8. How Things change Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Mighty Nein are trying to deal with Yasha turning on them, and Yasha is planning an escape...
> 
> SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 69 ONCE MORE PLEASE WATCH IT FIRST
> 
> TW blood, injury, a lil gore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayyyyy here's that second part I mentioned that nobody asked for but I wrote anyway. I needed closure, emotionally, because it's gonna be some hefty fucking time till that happens in the show. 
> 
> Anywho, this one is far more Canon Divergent - I'm a big Beau/Yasha shipper, so this one went more towards that. I don't think this would probably happen in canon, but the last chapter was much more Canon Compliant, with the obvious exception. I just wanted to write some Beau/Yasha H/C to make me feel better after that episode coz it was, uhhhh, a lot and I'm glad I didn't get up at 3am to watch it because I would not have gotten ANY sleep after that. 
> 
> Anyway, I'm rambling. As always, I hope you enjoy this, and feedback of all kinds is always welcome :)

Her body burned. 

The hand on her shoulder felt like a knife buried into the muscle. The shackles on her wrists were icy cold, cutting into the skin. The movement of the moorbounder was making her stomach turn. 

He was gone. And they'd taken her. 

The Moorbounder stumbled a little over a rock, and Yasha felt Beau's hand tense on her shoulder. The movement of the creature was obviously jostling her wounds - Yasha felt the same sharp pains in her injuries, but fought it down with fury. She was focused on trying to come up with a plan. 

If she could get some kind of cover, she could bail off the side of the Moorbounder. Beau would probably come with her, given the tension in the hand on her shoulder. If she did it quietly enough and smoothly enough, the others might not notice. She could just go back and help free the Laughing Hand. She just needed some kind of cover - trees, rocks, anything. 

As though answering her, there was a distant rumble, and then the skies opened up, raining down heavily on them. Faintly, she heard Fjord and Jester complaining, and their Moorbounder slowed down a little more. 

Night was beginning to fall, and with the heavy rain fall, grey skies obscured any light from the sky. Yasha glanced back briefly, and just barely saw Yarnball, Jester's Moorbounder, about thirty feet behind them. With the darkness and the rainfall... she said a quiet prayer to the stormlord as thanks for giving her the distraction she needed. She stared at the open plains ahead, waiting for a good opportunity. 

A few thick rocks started appearing about ten feet ahead. It was the perfect excuse. 

As they came upon the rocks, a crack of thunder timed perfectly as Yasha threw herself off of the Moorbounder. 

She actually grabbed hold of Beau's wrist, pulling her along. Caduceus might not have noticed Yasha bailing off Clarabelle, but Beau definitely would.

The two of them hit the ground hard, rolling a couple of times. Before Beau had even recovered, Yasha was on top of her, pining her down and smothering her mouth with a hand so hard that she reopened a cut on the human's lip. Beau's eyes went wide and she tried to struggle, managing to make some kind of half-strangled sound in the back of her throat in an attempt to alert the others. Yasha pushed down harder, covering her nose too and pressing her other hand down on Beau's throat, making her sink down about half an inch in the mud. 

Off to her left, about twenty feet, she heard Jester's Moorbounder pass by them, apparently unaware that the two of them weren't on Caduceus' anymore. Beau tried to make another desperate warning sound, but Yasha trapped it in her throat beneath her hand. Beau's struggles were starting to become weaker and weaker and it wasn't long before it was more like nervous twitching. Yasha held on until her eyes fell closed, a somewhat satisfied smirk falling onto her face. 

It was quickly wiped away when one of Beau's elbows whipped around, cracking her in the side of the head. Yasha's head rang and for a moment she could see nothing but stars. She half-fell backwards, her head spinning. When she managed to regain her senses a few seconds later, Beau was on all fours, coughing with a hand carefully rubbing her throat. 

She glanced between Yasha and the way the rest of the Nein had gone. Yasha managed to shift enough that she was between Beau and the way they were travelling. Beau started trying to get to her feet, but Yasha tackled her back down. She felt a little lost without her sword, but her hands were enough to destroy almost anything, let alone this twig of a woman who was struggling for consciousness. 

Yasha tried to get Beau pinned again, but for every ounce of furious strength she used, Beau was meeting it with frantic dexterity, dodging and wriggling out of Yasha's grip. 

"JES!" Beau screamed, her voice breaking in the middle and faltering slightly. Yasha felt a brief moment of admiration - she'd thought she surely had crushed Beau's windpipe - before it was gone. She grabbed a hold of Beau's arm as a fist swung wildly towards her, before pivoting, raising Beau up and over her shoulder, slamming her into the ground. The wind escaped Beau's body in a pained huff, and her eyes fell closed for two seconds, opening just in time to roll aside as Yasha's fist slammed into the ground where her head was. 

"Yash." she croaked desperately, trying to scramble away. "Stop." 

Yasha half-stood, staggering a little, before approaching her frightened pray. Beau raised her forearms defensively, but it did nothing to stop Yasha's foot when it came down hard on her stomach. She groaned, curling up instinctively as Yasha straddled her, pinning her in place with her knees. A look of - defeat? Reluctant acceptance? - settled on Beau's features. Her body became limp, and she just looked up at Yasha with something akin to honesty. 

"Don't blame yourself." she croaked out, so quiet that Yasha almost didn't hear her over the sound of the rain that pelted the two of them. Her bright blue eyes - dimmed and distant now - met Yasha's, and she felt a surge of pain in her head. 

_She looked over, backing up three steps, feeling her heart race. From across the field, a pair of deep brown eyes met hers with reluctant acceptance. A small smile pressed her lips upward._

_"Save yourself, my love." Zuala said softly as the members of the tribe began to advance on her. Yasha almost didn't hear the words slip from her lips when she said, her voice soft and quiet, "Don't blame yourself."_

And in a rush, Yasha was herself again. A bright spark of pain flashed through her head as The Orphanmaker was pushed to the back of her brain and the rage started to fade, replaced with horror and regret. 

She looked down and for a moment didn't understand the beaten and defeated look on Beau's face before the things that had happened - they were like a dream, now - caught up with her and seemed to sync with her body. Immediately, she felt an overwhelming rush of guilt, scrambling back off Beau. For a moment, Beau didn't move, and Yasha wondered if she could, then she slowly sat, a grunt in her throat. Her eyes stayed on Yasha as she started backing up. Her eyes burned dull with an unasked question.

"I'm sorry." was all Yasha could manage. 

"Is it-" Beau's voice caught and she coughed. Yasha felt a surge of worry at the blood appearing on her lips. "Fuck. S'it you?" she managed. 

"It's... it's me, I'm me again. I am so sorry, Beau." 

Beau seemed satisfied with that answer, because she collapsed back down onto her back, throwing good arm over her face. "Fuck." 

"Are you ok?" Yasha asked. Beau didn't reply. "Can I heal you a bit?" 

Beau moved her arm, half-lifting her head to peer at Yasha. Yasha couldn't tell if Beau really believed her, or was just too resigned to care, but she nodded. Yasha approached, ignoring the furious shaking of her hands as she placed her hands on Beau's torso, where it looked like it would hurt the least. Regardless, a small grunt escaped Beau, and Yasha could see her fighting her instincts to back away. When the meagre healing magic slipped into Beau, there was the sound of a couple of bones snapping back into place. 

Yasha looked up, trying to pinpoint any of the Moorbounders in the storm. However, given the speed they moved at and the amount of time Yasha and Beau had been scrambling in the mud... they could be halfway to Bazzoxan by now, and maybe even still hadn't noticed that Yasha and Beau were gone. 

"Fuck." Beau said again, apparently coming to the same conclusion as Yasha. 

"We need to get out of the storm." Yasha said, standing up. Beau tensed for a moment out of instinct, but quickly relaxed again. 

"Your doing?" Beau croaked, apparently incapable of speaking more than a couple words at a time. 

"I don't know." Yasha said sheepishly, looking up at the sky. "Maybe... I saw a formation of rocks not too far back that would give us some cover." 

Beau just nodded, shivering, looking exhausted. Yasha didn't blame her. The sharp, pounding pain in her head wasn't fading at all, and she'd taken a lot of hits during the battle. She reached down a hand to Beau, who looked reluctant as she took it. When she was upright, she staggered a little, but managed to stay on her feet. 

"Here." Yasha said, tilting her shoulders slightly in indication. Beau seemed to analyse her for a moment - probably looking for any trace of malice - before the look was replaced with tiredness and she put an arm over Yasha's shoulder. Yasha put a hand around her waist in return, quietly pleased that Beau didn't flinch away, and started directing them towards the rock formation she'd spotted. 

***

Caduceus could kick himself. How long had Yasha and Beau not been with them? How hadn't he noticed earlier. He managed to get the others to stop, and as everyone gathered within twenty feet, looks of realisation and panic danced across their features. 

"Where did they go?" Fjord demanded as they all got within speaking range. 

"I don't know." Caduceus admitted. "They... with the storm, I didn't hear..." 

"Do you think they fell, or... or...?" Jester didn't finish the thought. If Yasha had jumped off, Beau wouldn't have willingly gone with her. She was smarter than that. 

"Can you send them a message?" Nott asked nervously. Jester shook her head; she was out of spells for the day.

"We need to retrace our steps." Caleb said calmly. "Go back the way we came and see if we can find any tracks or traces where they are." 

"In this storm?" Nott screeched. "We'll never find anything." 

"We do not have another option." Caleb replied. 

"Yeah, we ain't leavin' Beau behind." Fjord mumbled. 

"What about Yasha?" 

Fjord's eyes darkened. "Well, I guess we'll figure that out when we find out what happened. If... if she's still against us and she attacked Beau-" 

"Beau can hold her own." Caduceus put in placatingly, trying to suppress the urgency and panic showing on everyone's faces. 

"Beau was really hurt." Jester said quietly, her eyes filling with tears. She'd thought that she didn't have any more tears to shed, after the emotional turmoil of the day, but the thought of Beau's bloody state when she'd last seen her... well, her body seemed happy to produce more tears. 

"We'll go slower." Caduceus said, already turning Clarabelle around. "Caleb, could we put a bird in the sky?" 

A minute later, the group were heading back the way they'd come, going at a much slower speed, their eyes on the ground. 

***

Beau was exhausted by the time that the two of them reached the rocks that Yasha had mentioned. She slumped down against one of the bigger rocks, the slight hook of it providing a shield from the rain. Yasha stayed standing, looking around for threats. 

Beau was still weary of her. Whatever had happened, whatever spell Oban had put her under... it was too much. She didn't like that it was Yasha, that it didn't seem like  _any_ of the charms they'd seen before. She didn't like how easily Yasha had torn her apart. And she certainly didn't like that she was now stuck with Yasha, Gods-knows-how-far from the rest of the Mighty Nein, barely strong enough to fight off a kitten, let alone her violently inclined friend. 

Yasha's gaze fell on her, and another apology brewed in her throat. Beau waved it off. "Stop apologising." Fuck, her throat hurt. It was fire. Every word was croaky and broken. Being strangled for a minute and a half apparently was rough on the throat. 

"I'm-" Yasha stopped herself, and her jaw clenched a little. She crouched down in front of Beau. "Let me see." she said softly. Beau tipped back her head in a surprisingly open show of trust, and Yasha edged a little closer. Beau's throat was already starting to bruise deep purples and blues, and Yasha really hoped that her windpipe was intact. Hesitantly, she reached out and gently pressed her hand to Beau's throat. Beau flinched but made a conscious effort to stay still as Yasha checked to see if there was any permanent damage. "Bruised windpipe." she said quietly after a moment. 

"Cool." Beau grunted, the single world struggling out of her tight throat. Fuck, even breathing hurt. Yasha gestured to her torso loosely, and Beau just nodded. She closed her eyes, resting her head back against the rock she leaned against as Yasha started to carefully, with shaking hands, checking her torso for broken bones. 

Her healing magic had targeted the worst breaks, and what Yasha suspected had been a pierced lung, but there were still a couple of cracked ribs and possibly internal damage, given the swollen mass of patchwork bruises across her stomach and sternum. 

"How'sit?" Beau mumbled, not even opening her eyes. A shiver passed through her, and she winced. 

"It's, uh, not good." Yasha admitted quietly. "Try to get some rest. When you wake up, we'll look for the others." 

Beau managed to hold back from saying " _if_ I wake up", just nodding quietly. A moment of silence and a bit of shuffling, and Beau felt a warm weight settle over her shoulders. Yasha's shrug, she realised, which smelled musky and rain-y, not unlike Yasha herself. She didn't have the energy to make a flirtatious remark (nor did she particularly feel it right then) or thank Yasha for it. She just curled up inside it, trying not to grimace as pain flashed through her torso. 

"Beau?" Yasha said timidly. Beau managed to pry her eyes open, looking at Yasha's bleary silhouette. 

"Hm?" 

"Why did you come back for me?" Yasha asked uncomfortably. "I told you that if the group were in danger to just go. I put you in danger. I put the group in danger. You almost didn't make it through the doors, aside from everything else. You should've left me -" a note of frustration slipped into her voice. "Why didn't you?" 

"Could give you dozen reasons." Beau grumbled, a wet cough in her throat. Yasha refused to meet her eyes, instead inspecting the dirt on her pants. "You'd do same." 

Yasha felt her face crease naturally into a frown. "How do you know that? I was trying to kill you - I very nearly did. I don't even know if I'd do the same if our situations were reversed." 

"I do." Beau said, a welt building in her throat. Fuck... talking  _hurt_. "You're good, Yash. Don't... ugh, fuck... don't let that dick-" she stopped a moment to catch her breath. "Dictate who you are."

"I-" 

"Don't matter what you did," Beau said slowly, her eyes slipping closed again. "You're good now... I've seen it. You're not evil." 

Yasha didn't - couldn't - believe her, but decided not to press Beau on it. She needed to rest. She stood back upright from her crouching position, scanning their surroundings for any dangers. 

"Sit." Beau said, and her voice was weak and desperate. Yasha raised an eyebrow, trying not to let her stomach turn and the utter... vulnerability in Beau's voice. She  _did_ want to sit, she was exhausted and her own wounds were flaring in pain. She wanted nothing more than to draw Beau up to her chest and hold her and protect her and apologise because... fuck. Just... fuck.

"Please." Beau said, locking in Yasha's decision. 

Cautiously, she sat down underneath the rock, a respectable couple of feet away from Beau. A surge of surprise washed through her as a bloodied, shaking hand reached out for her. Yasha hesitantly took it in one of her own - Beau's knuckles were destroyed, she couldn't help but realise - and gave it a soft, reassuring squeeze. There was a gentle, almost imperceptible tug on her hand, and she glanced over to see Beau looking at her expectantly. Yasha wanted to keep her space because what if The Orphanmaker came back out, what if she hurt Beau, what if she woke up bathed in Beau's blood, what if...?

But she also longed for the comfort and for to wrap her arms around Beau and hold her and try to provide her with  _some_ comfort that she wasn't going to do any of those things, reassure her that she was safe. 

In the end, her own selfish needs won out and she shuffled closer, until their thighs pressed together. Yasha didn't plan on pushing Beau, so it was a surprise when a head drooped onto her shoulder, and Beau tucked her body into Yasha's side. 

"Ok?" she said softly, hesitantly. Yasha just nodded. "Sure?" 

"Yeah." Yasha confirmed, finding her voice now. Beau seemed happy enough with the answer, as she curled closer to Yasha, and didn't even tense up when a big, strong arm wrapped around her shoulders and waist. Yasha held Beau protectively close to her, and it wasn't long before her friend's breathing evened out. 

She didn't know what was going on. She didn't remember who Oban was, or why she was so entranced by him, or whether Yasha had been taken over by The Orphanmaker, or if The Orphanmaker had been taken over by Yasha. All she did know was that, at least Beau and the rest of her family were alive. 

Whatever happened tomorrow, they were all alive and for that, she was eternally grateful.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woach that turned veryveryveryvery Beauyasha HC at the end there, not something I see happening in Canon anytime soon (especially after that episode of Talks where Marisha said, in so many words, that Beau isn't that into Yasha) but yeah i just wanted to feel better. We got a week off, we got Ashley leaving, we got no closure any time soon. In canon, I think it's going to be a while before we see Yasha again so I am probably going to be writing a lot of Beau/Yasha one-shots and stuff to make me feel better. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope y'all are having the loveliest of days and aren't too emotionally stressed from that gotdamn episode. Be kind to each other, and until next time, stay nerdy :-)


	9. Young

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Most of the Mighty Nein get turned into younger versions of themselves, with apparently no recollection of their adult lives. Those remaining have the task of six rambunctious kids on their hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> M9 family feels all around <3  
> TW referenced child abuse 
> 
> This idea has been done probably a hundred times before, but this is my take on it. Y'all seem to like when I roll for things as well, so I rolled for who would remain adults, and rolled on a d8 what age everyone would be. If you guys want anymore of this, feel free to leave me some prompts for it or just let me know and I'll give it a try! 
> 
> I especially want to shout out VoidGhost for Nott the Goblin Mom, because that fic is one of the best kidfics I've ever read, and they do a great job of keeping the characterisation of the Nein as young'uns spot on. So check that out if you're looking for a good M9 deaging fic to read :-)
> 
> Anywho, down to business. As always, I hope y'all enjoy this, and all sorts of feedback are welcome!

Waking up surrounded by half a dozen small people wasn't how Yasha expected to come to consciousness.

Her first thought was one of alarm - the little green one appeared to be attempting to chew a dagger. Luckily, he was on the pommel right now, but she didn't want to think about him moving towards the actually blade. In a flurry, she reached down, scooping the blade from his hands and getting a familiar pout in return. She raised her eyebrows at the small half-orc, feeling a sense of dread wash over her. 

The kid looked an awful lot like Fjord. 

She quickly scanned the rest of the group, and came to the conclusion that for whatever reason, the Mighty Nein had been turned into kids. Fjord was like a small green milk bottle, with a scruff of messy dark hair and tiny stubby tusks growing in (maybe he was teething - tusking?). He looked to be in his early toddler years, old enough to speak and walk but not yet to read, or know not to put sharp objects in his mouth. 

Her eyes next befell on two figures, sitting next to each other and giggling, their tales lashing back and forth excitedly. Jester was the same blue colour, though her hair longer and her horns shorter. There was exuberant youthful energy behind her eyes, and Yasha already felt tired from watching her teaching Mollymauk some kind of clapping game. Molly himself looked so  _different_ that were it not for the eyes and the knowing smirk, she wouldn't have none it was him. There were no piercings or extravagant tattoos, no scars. Just a little purple kid, his horns no more than nubs and his hair longer than Yasha had ever seen it. They both looked maybe halfway through their first decade, which at least meant that they probably weren't at risk of eating pointy things (probably).

There was an indignant " _Nein_!" and Yasha glanced over to see a grey and pink figure trying to pry a book away from a small redheaded human. Caduceus looked to be a little older than Jester and Molly, maybe six or seven years old, and was just all fuzz. His fur looked soft, his expression placid, an ancient look on his small face. Caleb looked about Fjord's age - maybe a year or so older, judging by their relative sizes - and looked much the same he did as an adult, albeit without the scruffy beard, and with more weight on him. His hair was a red halo, his skin pale and his blue eyes wide with wanting. 

"Um... Molly?" Yasha said, not sure what else she could do. He glanced up, briefly, tail flicking a little nervously, before going back to playing pat-a-cake with Jester. 

It was then that Yasha did a headcount and realised that two of their party were missing; Nott and Beau. 

"Shit," she muttered under her breath. She walked through the group, picking up Fjord as she did so (he probably couldn't be left alone, given his size), and started looking around the clearing that Caleb had set his bubble up in as normal last night. "Nott? Beau?" she shouted as she went. The others seemed interested vaguely in this, and looked up at her briefly. "Can you guys help me look?" she asked expectantly of the kids. 

"I'm looking after the baby." Caduceus said, gesturing to Caleb, who'd slobbered all over one of his books. Caleb garbled something in Zemnian that Yasha didn't understand.

Jester whispered something to Molly and they both stood. "What are we looking for?" Jester asked expectantly, big purple eyes wide and cheerful. 

"Two people." Yasha replied instantly. "A really grumpy human woman, and a goblin lady in a hood." 

They were searching for five minutes - never going out of eyeshot of Caduceus and Caleb - when Yasha heard a familiar screech. 

"Beau! Will you get down from there, for fuck's sake!" 

Yasha gathered up all of the kids and travelled towards the sound of the voice. Sure enough, at the base of a tree about a minute's walk away was a familiar goblin figure, and Yasha prayed to every God she could think of to thank that Nott seemed herself.

"Yasha." Nott said, seeing her approach, and eyeing the kids. "Sorry, I tried to wake you but Beau bolted and..." 

She pointed vaguely up to the tree, and Yasha could make out a figure about thirty feet up. Beau looked about the same age as Caduceus, and similar to her usual self. However, instead of being muscly and dexterous, she was sort of bony, all elbows and knees. Her hair was a long, dark mess that didn't seem to suit her at all. Yasha couldn't help but notice the fierce and defensive look that she had on her face. 

"Go away!" she shouted down at them all. 

"What is going on?" Yasha asked. 

"I don't know," Nott admitted, her fingers absently going for her flask. "I woke up and they were all... you know, little, except for me and you. I saw Beau bolting and I figured, y'know, given the circumstances-" 

"Not very safe." 

"Not safe at all." Nott agreed. 

"She's really high up." Jester put in suddenly, her tail wrapping nervously around Yasha's leg. "Isn't she scared of falling?" 

"They're not..." Yasha looked around at the kids at a loss for words. 

"Themselves?" Nott provided. "It's like they've been changed mentally as well as physically. I don't think Beau remembers me at all." 

Yasha looked up at the tree. "Beau, come down!" she shouted. 

"F-fuck off!" Beau said, the sound having none of its usual confidence on her voice. 

In Yasha's arms, Fjord gasped. "Bad word." 

"Yeah, she said a bad word." Nott said. "Don't repeat it, ok?" 

Fjord glanced at her, raised an eyebrow, but seemed to follow the maternal aura that Nott was projecting. "She's bad." 

None of them had an answer for that so they went back to the task at hand: how to get Beau down from the tree. 

"Will you stay with the children?" Yasha asked Nott. "I'll see if I can go and get her?" 

Nott bit her lip. "Alright, but... be careful. Turns out she's got just as many trust issues as a kid as she had as an adult. And doesn't seem to like doing what others tell her to. Not that that's anything new." 

Yasha handed Nott the half-orc baby, and Nott did a quick headcount. She gave Yasha a nod, getting the children into a circle and promising to teach them a fun game. With a heavy sigh, Yasha began to climb the tree. She'd seen Beau climb before, but had none of her friend's grace or agility. She made up for it with pure strength, pulling herself up further and further until she was about five feet below Beau, who was looking around with wide eyes. 

"Don't try anything silly, Beau." Yasha said, in what she hoped was a calming tone. "Just come back down and we can talk." 

Beau shook her head, climbing up another branch, just out of Yasha's reach. "I don't want to." 

"You're making this very difficult, Beauregard." Yasha huffed, and it came out harsher than she meant it to. Beau flinched a little at the name, seeming to shrink in on herself. Yasha couldn't help but notice now that she was closer-up that Beau seemed a little underweight. Sure, even as an adult she'd been wiry, but she was pretty sure human children were not supposed to be so...  _thin_. 

Realising she needed to change her tactic, Yasha sat down calmly on the branch, leaning against another branch. "What  _do_ you want to do, then, Beau?" 

Beau's face went through a series of emotions that she was too inexperienced to try to hide. Confusion, hope, fear... suspicion. She didn't answer, just jutted out her lip. 

"Are you hungry?" 

Nothing. 

"You want to come and meet the other kids?" 

That seemed to pique her interests a little. She tilted her head slightly, looking down longingly through the trees and quickly looking up again, as though afraid of being caught. 

"They're playing, you know." Yasha said. "I'm pretty sure they could use another playmate. Don't you want to go and make some friends?" 

Beau bit her lip with indecision. "How do you know my name?" she asked eventually. 

"It's a long story." Yasha said, not really sure how else she could answer. "My name is Yasha. I just want to help you. Want do you want?" 

Beau looked down idly at her feet, her fingers tugging at Monk vestments that were now way too big for her. "I want to make friends." she said, so quiet Yasha almost missed it. She didn't look up as Yasha stood, her eyes remaining on her feet. Yasha reached out a hand as an offer, and after a moment's hesitation, Beau clambered down a branch or two. She didn't take Yasha's hand, instead climbing down a few branches away from Yasha, but she did climb down, which was something. 

When she got to the bottom, Jester was in her face in an instant, asking her about what she could see from up in the tree and how cool it was, and why Beau wasn't scared. Beau seemed to flinch away from Jester at first, clearly not used to being around such a colourful and energetic person. However, when Jester said something about Beau was  _like, the bravest_ , Yasha noticed Beau puff out her chest a little more, and she seemed to relax a little more, grinning despite herself. Eventually, Nott convinced both of them to join the circle and Yasha watched from the side, keeping a close eye on the group. 

 _This is a problem_ , she thought quietly to herself as Caleb had a loud conversation with Nott in Zemnian (that she didn't understand) and Molly asked Caduceus if he was a cow.  _We need to fix this, right away._

*** 

When it seemed that the spell or curse, or whatever it was that made their friends kids, wasn't disappearing, her and Nott decided to make a plan. They told the kids to play amongst themselves for a moment, and keeping their eyes strictly on the rest of the Nein, the two of them began trying to decide what to do. 

"We could go and see, ah shit what was that wizard's name? The one with the tower?" 

"He was all the way in Nicodranas." Yasha pointed out. "And I don't know if there's anything he could do for them." 

"Well, we don't have any other options. Until we find out what happened to them, we can't help." Nott pointed. "I would ask Caleb but I don't think he speaks Common." 

They were interrupted when Caleb and Fjord started getting into a fight (that mostly involved slapping), before Caleb had a total meltdown and started crying and screaming, his face red. 

"Shhh, it's alright love," Nott said, cradling the boy. "You're ok. Stop crying, ok?" 

Caleb did not stop crying. He paused briefly to exclaim in Zemnian about something, then continued wailing. Molly eventually came over, looking somewhat irked by the noise, before proceeding to make funny faces at Caleb. Caleb's screaming stopped but his eyes were still watery - and then just like that a short, sharp laugh escaped him, and then he was laughing and giggling with Molly. 

"My momma says I'll grow into them." Jester was telling Fjord. "Do you think your tusks will get like, super big?" 

"I don't know." Fjord said with a shrug, his fingers going to his tusks self-consciously. 

"Don't cover them up! They look  _really_ cool! I've never met a half-orc before. You're really nice." 

Fjord didn't seem to know how to answer that. "Ta." 

"We need to do  _something_." Yasha said to Nott, doing another quick headcount just to be sure, and seeing Caduceus examining the grass and Beau sulking on her own. "Let's get the cart together and start heading for Nicodranas, yeah? Hopefully they become... you know, themselves, again before we get there." 

"I really hope so." Nott said as Caleb pulled on her ear, giggling. "This is getting weird." 

Nott watched the kids while Yasha went and got the cart and horses. They were a little ways away, where the group had initially made camp. She stopped to gather up the rest of the Mighty Nein's packs and weapons, before getting the cart towards them. Nott did another headcount as the kids were bundled into the cart; Jester, holding Caleb's hand and talking excitedly about Nicodranas, Caduceus carrying baby Fjord and showing him a flower he'd picked, Molly irritating Beau as much as he could. That was all of them. 

Yasha elected to sit in the back with the kids, leaving Nott to drive the cart. Amongst squabbling and crying -  _again_ \- the Mighty Nein set back out. 

*** 

The more they travelled, the more insight Yasha got as to what her friends were like as kids. 

Fjord was shy and quiet. He never approached the others to ask to play, or initiate a conversation. He mostly kept himself to himself, until one of the others asked him to join them. Yasha turned out to be correct about him teething. He seemed to want to chew everything and put it in his mouth. It was starting to concern her that he was going to grab glass or something when she wasn't paying any attention. 

Caleb got on with the others well enough, for someone who couldn't communicate with them. He seemed oddly outgoing as a child, often talking animatedly and at length to the others. Of all of them, Molly was the most prone to listening to his Zemnian ramblings. He would often go out of his way to gain the attention of the others, telling them something that they obviously didn't understand. Once or twice, she caught him napping on one of the others (especially Caduceus, since he was so fuzzy), apparently without care. He was so different to adult Caleb that Yasha had to wonder what had happened to him. 

Jester was just as excitable as ever, and hadn't really changed despite the transition. She talked eagerly to anybody who'd listen about anything they'd listen to. She bounced about energetically, talking about her friend who the others  _totally couldn't see_ and asked Yasha at least once an hour when she'd get to go home to see her Momma. More than once, she pulled small pranks on the others, including (but not limited to): drawing in one of Caleb's books, painting Fjord's face when he slept, and convincing Nott that there was a spider in her hair. 

Molly mostly sat beside the others, humming idly to himself or looking out the back of the cart. Yasha spoke to him once, and he'd insisted that his name was  _Lucien, not Molly_. He helped Jester with any of the pranks that needed an extra set of hand, and was surprisingly careful with the littler ones. More than once, Yasha caught him scolding Fjord for trying to chew his clothes, or nodding along to Caleb's rants, although he couldn't understand him. He even told Beau a joke in private that made her smile despite herself, and relax just a little. 

Beau herself was often on the receiving end of Jester's ramblings. She sat in the corner of the cart, curled up and eyeing everybody suspiciously, like a cat ready to flee at any moment. She was somewhat restless, often twitching or tapping impatiently, but her caution seemed to outweigh her need to fidget. The only people she tolerated being within five feet of her were Jester or (strangely enough) Molly. Whenever any of the others got too close, she tended to tense up, shrink into herself even more and ball up her hands into fists. 

Caduceus was a curious case. Clearly having grown up with many siblings, he'd learned to get along with other kids. Not unlike Molly, he'd adopted a more mature role in the group, trying to keep the kids amused whenever Yasha and Nott needed to talk. However, more than once she caught him staring wistfully, with wide and curious eyes at passing plants or flowers. Once, he was so excited by a bright pink flower that he hoped out of the cart to grab it, prompting Yasha to have a small heart-attack, and give him a strict talking to about wandering off. 

They pushed on even when the kids started getting tired and irritable; the quicker they got to Nicodranas, the better. 

They were forced to stop when fighting broke out. Molly, who seemed to be the kind of kid that enjoyed irritating people when he was tired, started winding Beau up. It was nothing different to how they usually acted, but it was clear that Beau wanted her space. When Molly didn't get the message, she threw herself across the cart at him, pining his smaller body to the ground and clawing at his face. 

Yasha scooped Beau off Molly, trying to ignore the way she was thrashing (she was so wriggly, even as a kid) and looked down at Molly. He looked more shocked than anything, but his bottom lip wobbled in a way that had Yasha prepared for tears. However, Nott came over at that moment and started to soothe Molly, checking if he was ok and telling him not to wind Beau up. 

"Get off me!" Beau snarled, all wriggling limbs and bony edges. She caught Yasha in the face with an elbow, which hurt more than Yasha wanted to admit. She felt a little blood on her lip, and wasn't sure if Beau had even meant to do that. She took Beau off to the side, away from the group, before putting her down. Beau huffed angrily, but didn't really seem to know what to do, so just stood there, folding her arms and scowling at Yasha. 

"You cannot attack Molly like that." Yasha warned her. 

"Lucien was winding me up!" she said indignantly. "He was doing it on purpose!" 

"I know, Beau." Yasha said quietly. "That doesn't make it ok to hit him, though." 

Beau huffed again, biting her lip and looking away. She didn't meet Yasha's eyes, didn't seem to have a reply. Waiting on a verdict, it seemed. 

"Alright," Yasha said finally. "Let's get back to the group and have some dinner, yeah?" 

She made the mistake of reaching out to put a comforting hand on Beau's shoulder and felt a shock of concern run through her when Beau flinched. She bit her lip harder, her shoulder sinking as though Yasha's hand weighed a tonne. She still refused to look up at Yasha, but she couldn't help but notice the shaking in her shoulders. 

Yasha carefully got down on one knee to meet Beau's eyes, though she still seemed determined to look away. "Beau." she said softly, waiting for the girl to turn her attention back on her. Beau's blue eyes darted to her only briefly before going back to the ground. "I'm not mad. Just don't hurt Mo- Lucien again, ok?" 

She just nodded, and followed glumly behind Yasha as they headed back to the camp. She desperately wanted to help Beau, but she had no experience consoling a child with obvious trust and personal space problems. She decided, as they walked, that she would talk to Nott about it when the children were sleeping; Nott was a mother, perhaps she could help Beau, or at least give Yasha some advice on how to do so.

By the time they got back to the cart, Nott had set the camp up. Fjord and Caleb were sitting beside each other, watching with wide eyes as Caduceus showed them how to make daisy chains. Jester and Molly were helping Nott by gathering up wood, though they seemed to be distracted by sword-fighting with two thinner branches. 

Yasha told Beau to sit with Caduceus and the babies as she helped Nott set up. 

The rest of the night passed quickly. One moment, Nott was trying to dish out food, then Yasha was figuring out sleeping arrangements, then they were dropping off quickly. It didn't escape Yasha's notice how quiet Beau had become, how she barely touched the food they offered her despite the fact that she was very clearly underweight. She tried to ignore the way that Beau and Molly ignored each other the rest of the evening, both going so far as to pretend that the other didn't exist. 

Yasha doubled up the bedrolls so that they could keep the camp as small as possible. Her and Nott wanted to be able to do quick head-counts in an emergency. Caduceus was more than happy to curl up with baby Fjord in his arms, and Jester and Molly slept with Caleb curled up between them, tossing and turning frequently. Beau refused to share with anyone, and moved her bedroll a conspicuous few feet from the others. When Yasha was sure that the children were all sleeping, she helped Nott pack away and tried to figure out to phrase her questions. 

"Do you know much about Beau's parents?" she asked finally, quiet for fear of waking any of them up. Nott raised an eyebrow, glancing over to the sleeping human. 

"I know she didn't get along with them." she said. "I don't know. She never really talked about them. Why?" It was clear Nott already knew. She too had clocked on to Beau's distancing herself and reluctance to eat dinner. 

"After what happened with her and Molly, I took her to the side and told her to not hit him again. She seemed... I don't know. Scared, maybe? I put my hand on her shoulder and she like-" Yasha mimicked the jarring movement. "Flinched, you know? And she was shaking." 

Nott sighed heavily, glancing over to Beau once more. "I was starting to get a feeling that maybe, uh..." she sat down on the grass, prompting Yasha to sit next to her. "Maybe her parents mistreated her? I mean, look at the other kids. They're all so outgoing and friendly, but she's just cautious and closed off. Might just be that she was a quiet kid but-" 

"Nothing Beau does is quiet." Yasha agreed. Nott nodded. "You think they hurt her?" 

"I don't know." Nott sighed heavily, taking out her flask and having a long swig before offering it to Yasha, who accepted gratefully. "Even if they don't like, physically hurt her, her whole attitude... I don't know. It just reeks of gaslighting and neglect." 

"Explains a lot about Beau now." Yasha said sourly. She wished she could go back in time, find Beau as a kid and remove her from whatever situation had made her so cautious and defensive. 

"Think she's underweight too." Nott said eventually. "It's hard to say. When-" she caught herself, hesitated, continued. "When Luc was younger, he was a little smaller than the other kids his age, but he always ate loads. Just ran about a lot. And... well, I don't know too much about human anatomy. I couldn't really say." 

"Adult Beau is quite..." Yasha searched for the word. "Twiggy still, yeah? Just with more muscle." 

"Hm." Nott agreed. "What about the others?" 

"It's weird seeing Caleb so happy and outgoing, and Fjord so shy." Yasha admitted. "The others haven't changed a bit. Well... they  _have_ changed  _a bit_." 

"It's nice, seeing Caleb before... you know, everything went wrong. And they all... well, all of them seem a lot happier. More carefree. Except for, you know, Beau." 

Yasha nodded, thinking about it to herself. "How far are we from Nicodranas?" 

"Another three days, give or take." Nott said, not bothering to get the map out to check for sure. A moment of silence passed between them. 

"I'll take first watch." Yasha said. "You get some rest." 

"Thanks," Nott said, admittedly looking pretty tired. Driving the cart all day had clearly taken it out of her. As she started setting out her bedroll, she glanced over at Yasha over her shoulder. "We'll find a way to, y'know, get them back, right?" 

Yasha nodded. "Of course we will." with a confidence she didn't really feel. Nott settled down, and for about twenty minutes, silence took their small camp. 

Then: "Yasha?" 

Yasha blinked, looking about the group before finally seeing Molly sitting upright. He looked uncertain, and a little scared. "Are you ok, Mo - Lucien?" 

His lip wobbled a moment and he shook his head. "Can I have a lullaby? To help me sleep?" 

She hesitated for a moment, never really being one for singing herself. Zuala had been a great singer, and more than once she'd sung lullabies to the orphans of the tribe, who had no parents to sing for them. Yasha usually just watched in quiet awe. She could still remember some of those lullabies, and the soft Celestial songs that the both of them had exchanged lovingly when nobody was looking. Finally, she went over to sit beside Molly, hesitantly reaching out and carding her fingers through his thick purple hair. She took a deep, soothing breath, stilled the shaking in her fingers. 

As she sang the lullaby that Zuala had most often shared with the orphans, she couldn't help but smile as Molly's eyes immediately began to drift closed. The kids around her all slept silently, and it wasn't long before Molly was out for the count, but Yasha couldn't bring herself to stop singing to them. 

In the dark and silent night, nobody could question Yasha for softly singing these Celestial songs to her friends - her family. 

It was a peaceful night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayo, thanks for reading! For clarification: 
> 
> \- Nott is unaffected  
> \- Yasha is unaffected  
> \- Fjord is 2  
> \- Caleb is 3  
> \- Jester and Molly are both 5  
> \- Beau and Caduceus are both 6
> 
> As always, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, feel free to leave me any prompts in the comments for anything you want to see! Have a lovely day, remember that you are valid and try to drink some water today <3 :)


	10. Young Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More M9 family feels!!!   
> TW blood, injury, referenced child abuse 
> 
> A lot of you guys have been asking for a resolution for this last part, especially with Beau having hurt/no comfort, so here it is :) 
> 
> Sorry it's been a while coming, I've been kind of off writing atm. Anyways, as always I hope y'all enjoy, and have a lovely day!! :-)

 

Nott was awoken at some point in the night to the sound of screaming. 

It wasn't a pleasant awakening, by any means. She scrambled to her feet, panic clawing at her guts and turning her insides out and her thoughts focused on single thing:  _the children_. She took in the sight around her quickly, trying to do a headcount. 

She could see just barely a few feet from her, a slain wolf of some kind, blood matting and staining its fur. The next thing she noticed was Yasha, her sword drawn, surrounded by another three wolves and tearing through them. She glanced at Nott, a look that said, "I've got this", before turning in a bloodfrenzy to the combat. Nott counted quickly: Jester and Molly were scrambling to hide in a bush, trying to quiet Fjord between them. She didn't immediately see Caduceus, but spotted a bit of pink fuzz hiding under one of the bedrolls. 

She counted. Counted again. Fuck. 

She scanned the environment in haste, trying to figure out where Beau and Caleb were. She felt dread drag her throat down as she saw a trial of blood leading away from the campsite. Yasha had the wolves handled, so in an instant, she was up and about, darting between their destroyed encampment and following the trail. She was running for perhaps half a minute when she began to smell it with her keen Goblin nose; human blood, metallic, like licking a copper piece. Her heart thudded and she just had to keep going, going, going, because if she didn't then what if something happened-

She heard crying and picked up her feet. 

As she got closer to the sound, she eventually could make out some small humanoid figures in the distance. A small-ish one (the one making the noise) on the ground near a tree, looking startled and so Godsdamned scared. A slighter bigger humanoid, standing just in front of the little one, gangly limbs defensive and looking panicky. Nott saw the wolf that Beau and Caleb were facing off against, and on its hind legs it would be about the same height as Yasha. 

She cursed herself for leaving her crossbow back at the camp and started moving faster, faster, faster as she watched the wolf bare down on Beau. It snarled angrily at her, gnashing its teeth and clearly trying to get behind her to Caleb, who was all but defenceless. However, Beau snarled right back at it with all the righteous anger of an unhappy six year old. Nott was about thirty feet away now, pushing her small legs to limit and was close enough to see the look of absolute terror on Beau's face when the wolf snapped at her. She fell to the ground, rolling away as fast as she could, avoiding a swipe with the paw with a yelp of fear. 

Nott's shortsword seemed to materialise in her hand and, in a rage that Yasha would later liken to one of her own - tore the beast apart. Every part of maternal instinct within her  _burned_ at the thought that this  _fucking thing_ had tried to hurt the children,  _her_ children.

Only when she was sure that the beast was still did she go over to Beau, who was half-sitting now, wide eyed, pale and shaking. As Nott got close, she expected Beau to scramble away in a mad panic, but Beau just threw herself forward into Nott's arms, a sob rising in her throat. Once Nott was over the initial shock, she wrapped her arms around her friend and held her until she'd calmed somewhat. Her gaze kept flittering over to Caleb; she didn't want to shut Beau down when she was being vulnerable, but she really needed to check on him. 

"Yasha, are you ok? You can reply to this message." Nott sent through the trees. 

"Yes, we are fine. The wolves are gone. Trying to calm little ones. Did you find Beau and Caleb?" 

"Yeah, they're both ok. Let me just calm them down a little, then I can bring them back." 

"Are you ok?" she asked finally, pulling Beau away and holding her at arm's length to get a good look at her. Apart from a little of the wolf's blood on her clothes, she seemed unscathed. 

"I'm fine." she managed, her voice quiet and soft. "C - Caleb got hurt." 

In an instant, Nott was rushing over to him, checking on him and soothing him gently. The wolf had grabbed Caleb by the scruff of his collar and dragged him away, it seemed. Although most of the damage was made to the clothes, there were several pierces in the back of his neck where the teeth had gotten through. More than anything, he seemed in shock and fear, so Nott just cradled him, trying to soothe him. She eventually managed to coax him into drinking a healing potion - the last one she had - and his skin turned a more natural colour. Barely a minute later, he was passed out in her arms. 

"Is... is he ok?" Beau said quietly, approaching them. 

"He's scared, but he'll be ok." Nott said softly. "Thanks to you." 

Beau looked startled, shifting a little and then her eyes found her feet and she refused to look up. "I didn't..." 

"That was a very brave thing you did," Nott said, gesturing for Beau to come and sit with her. Seeming with adverse reluctance, Beau sat down beside Nott, reaching over and delicately brushing some of Caleb's red hair out of his face. "Standing up to that wolf to protect Caleb? I don't know many people who'd do that." 

Beau's brown face blushed ever so slightly under the soft moonlight, and she looked away uncomfortably. "It wasn't... bad?" she clarified. And then, all in a hurry, she rushed on, "Just 'cause I know I'm not supposed to fight, or play in the woods, or run away but I saw the wolf take Caleb and you were asleep and -" 

"Hey, hey, calm down." Nott said soothingly, wrapping an arm around her. "It's ok. You did the right thing. You did a good thing. Caleb would be really really hurt if you hadn't helped him." 

"Uh... thanks." Beau bit her lip, seeming uncertain again. However, when her eyes fell on Caleb's sleeping face, a small smile slowly began to spread across her cheeks and for a moment she seemed more the six-year-old she was supposed to be. 

\---

When the three of them got back to the camp roughly five minutes later, it was a hard sight to see. Caduceus was desperately trying to calm down Jester, who looked as though she'd cried enough tears to make a river, Molly sat with his hands over his ears, and Yasha was trying desperately to calm Fjord, who was clearly still in a state of panic. Nott shared with a significant look with Yasha, and the two of them put all the kids in one place before standing just to the side to talk.

"This is going to be more difficult than we thought it would be." Yasha said eventually, rubbing tired eyes. 

"Yeah." Nott agreed. "They can't... defend themselves. What happens if something happens to one of them? They're so... fragile. And I can't heal them or anything if things go wrong." 

"I used the last of my healing magic on Molly." Yasha said quietly. "He was a little hurt." 

"And I used my last potion on Caleb." Nott sighed heavily, running a hand through her thin, greasy hair. 

"We need to get moving." 

"You haven't rested yet, though, have you?" Nott asked with a slight frown. 

"I can sleep in the cart," Yasha said decisively, shifting her weight from one foot to another. "We need to find a village or somewhere to stay. We can't camp out like this without the dome." 

"You're right." Nott said eventually. "Let's gather up the kids and get moving. I imagine they'll all want to nap too." 

They started getting together the cart and preparing the horses. Nott started helping kids up into the cart, starting with Fjord and Caleb. Next was Jester, Beau and then Caduceus, by which point the two littlest ones had fallen asleep. Molly approached Nott, looking a little nervous, glancing back over his shoulder.

"What is it, sweetie?" she said softly. 

"I think... I think Beau got hurt." he said, glancing up at the cart briefly to make sure she wasn't listening in. 

"What makes you say that?" 

"I saw her walking and she wasn't really walking on her foot properly." 

"Ok, thank you, Lucien." she helped him into the cart, and gestured Yasha over. "I'm gonna have a quick word with Beau, would you mind watching the rest of them for a minute? Then we can leave?" 

"Of course." Yasha nodded, a slightly concerned frown on her face.

"Beau, can I talk with you for a moment please?"

Beau looked up, a brief flash of panic and guilt crossing over her features. She slowly got up and headed out the back of the cart wearily, and Nott could see what Molly had referred to; Beau was avoiding putting weight on her right foot. 

"What?" she said, trying to sound careless, but her tone slightly higher than it usually was. 

"C'mon," Nott gestured for her to walk a little ways away from the group, which Beau reluctantly agreed to. Jester watched them, her tail swishing nervously, but Yasha managed to gain the attention of the group. 

"Did you get hurt?" Nott asked softly when they were out of ear shot of the others. 

Beau jutted out her chin. "No. I'm fine." 

"It's ok if you're not," Nott replied. That seemed to catch Beau off guard. "You don't always have to pretend that you're ok when you're not." 

Beau shifted her weight uncomfortably, folding her arms. "It was my fault I got hurt though." 

"Oh, Beau. It wasn't your fault. You did it to help Caleb. What usually happens if you get hurt?" 

Beau stiffened a little, shrugged. "My father says that if its my fault that I got hurt that I can't come crying to him. He's very busy a lot." 

Nott's heart broke a little at the admission. "Well that's not true. Not here. If you're hurt, you deserve help, ok? Even if it is your fault you got hurt. Everyone deserves to have help when they get hurt." 

Beau bit her lip. "Even bad people?" 

Nott didn't really want to get into the specifics of what kind of  _bad people_ did and didn't deserve help. She didn't need to - she could see that Beau was referring to herself. "You're not a bad person, Beau." Nott put both hands on her shoulders, feeling Beau shrink a little beneath the weight, but decided not to let up. "Look at me Beau. If people tell you that you're a bad person, they're wrong. You're a good person. You're a brave person. And we're all here to look after you, ok?" 

Beau nodded, furiously scrubbing away at wet eyes. 

"Can I have a look at your foot?" 

Beau glanced up, looked as though she wanted to say something but changed her mind and just nodded. She sat down on a nearby log, and Nott glanced briefly up at the cart to make sure that everything was ok before crouching down in front of her. Beau pulled up her pants leg so that Nott could see her ankle and foot. 

Immediately, Nott realised it must be a sprain. 

Beau had probably tripped when the beast had tried to bit her and twisted her ankle. She put a hand on it to try to ensure it wasn't broken, and heard Beau let out a soft, cut-off sob that she clearly didn't want Nott to hear. Her ankle was swollen almost double its normal size, and was dotted with a mirage of purple and blue bruises. 

"Oh, bubba." Nott said softly, out of instinct. She looked up to see Beau looking confused and a little ashamed. Without a moment's hesitation, she reached up and wrapped her arms around her human friend. There was a moment of pause, and then Beau caved, curling into Nott's embrace and sobbing. She was shivering slightly in the cool night air, and her breath kept catching as she tried to force down the sobs to no avail. Nott held her closer and realised that Beau was making jumbled, broken words between the sobs, and tried to make out what she was saying. 

"I'm sorry," she heard, Beau's voice catching in her throat slightly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." 

"Shhhh," Nott said softly, running a hand through Beau's hair. "It's ok, love. It's ok." 

Beau kept apologising over and over again until she lost her voice from sobbing and the shaking slowly began to subside. When she'd mostly quietened, Nott held her a little looser, giving her the chance to pull away if she needed to. "You've nothing to apologise for," she said soothingly, feeling a last shockwave sob slip out of Beau. "You've not done anything wrong. I'm not mad at you at all. How about I bandage your foot, then we get you back to the others, yeah? You look like you could use some sleep." 

"I'm not tired." she grumbled defiantly from her place in Nott's shoulder. Nott couldn't help but smile at the obvious lie. She quickly treated Beau's ankle with the healer's kit, and Beau worked on clearing the snot and tears off her face. They'd been gone for nearly half an hour by the time they were done, but Yasha just nodded as they returned. Exhaustively, Beau climbed into the back of the cart, immediately being set upon by Jester, who just would not stop asking questions. Nott climbed in the front and got the horses moving, as they made their way toward Nicodranas. 

Nott glanced in the back and couldn't help but smile slightly when she saw Beau fast asleep on Jester's shoulder.


	11. Chapter 11 - Salt of Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kima isn’t a fan of swimming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kima/Allura h/c
> 
> TW mentions of drowning 
> 
> This was just a wee thought I had based on what Kima said in conversation with vex and Percy before the wedding. Also I love these two gals a great deal and they’re just the sweetest and I love them. Anyways, as always I hope y’all enjoy!! 
> 
> Also, sidebar: I wrote this on my phone so I’m sorry if there’s lots of spelling/grammar errors

“Not really much of a swimmer to be honest. I can float, and I can paddle.”

Vex laughs good-naturedly. 

“- And I can drink,” Kima continues. “And everything here is  sweet and fruity, I love it. So, you finally gonna make an actual honest woman out of this one?” She jerks her head vaguely at Vex and Percy can’t help but smile as he responds. 

They talk about not very much for a little longer, before Allura and Kima excuse themselves and head off to get ready for the rehearsal. 

As they start getting ready, Kima can’t help but think of the first day they arrived at the beach. 

***

”I just wanna finish my drink first,” Kima called down the shore to where her wife was gently bobbing in the sea. 

“Kima, the water is lovely!” Allura insisted. “You really should join me!”

Kima found the fingers of her free hand wrapping around the handle  of her Holy Avenger, fighting a slight shudder that passed through her. She watched as Allura’s head sat at the surface of the water, her braids dunked beneath the waves and found unwelcome memories surfacing. 

And then, Allura dipped under the surface. 

Kima put down her tankard, picking up her weapon and waited. Five seconds passed, and Allura didn’t resurface. Ten seconds - nothing. Fifteen seconds...

Kima found her small legs moving uncontrollably at full speed toward the water. Before she was even fully aware of what she was doing, she was waist deep in the sea, dragging her weapon behind her, leaving trails. 

“Allie?” she screamed, trying to get to the spot where she’d seen her wife disappear beneath the waves. “Allie! Allie, where are you?!” 

She felt her heartbeat in her throat as she dunked her head under the water, fighting the initial panic of the water suffocating her, trying to look around for a familiar head of blonde hair, to no avail. She surfaced again, panting, dropping her weapon in her panic. 

“Allie?!” she shouted “ALLIE?”

A moment later, the surface of the water shimmered and shifted as Allura broke the surface. She brushed hair and water off of her face, revealing the frown underneath. 

“Kima?” she said softly, paddling over to where the halfling woman was doggy-paddling to stay afloat. “What’s the matter, love? You were screaming.” 

“I thought - I thought-“ Kima could barely think through the panic gripping her head in a vice. Allura swam close to her and wrapped her arms around her. 

In an instant, Kima was weighed down in heavy armour as Allura tried to paddle them toward the horizon. They were alone, surrounded by miles and miles of ocean, they couldn’t even see the shore, and Kima’s armour was dragging her down. Allura tried to keep Kima above the water but she wasn’t strong enough to hold the both of them. 

_If she doesn’t let go of me, we’ll both drown._

_“_ Kima! Kima, hey look at me, love.”Allura’s voice was breaking through her panic. Allura, who’s digging her fingers under Kima’s plate armour. Allura, who’s struggling to keep her head above the water. Allura, who’s starting to weaken as her strength begins to fail her. 

“It’s ok, love, stay calm.” 

She felt warmth starting to spread through her muscles and after a couple of minutes, the sea surrounding her on all sides turned into the blue sky up above her and she became aware of the sand in her hair. Then, the worried face of Allura, who was sitting a couple of feet away, biting her lip nervously. 

“Allie?” Kima breathed, her voice a little croaky. Relief spread across Allura’s face and she came over to sit beside Kima, reaching  out a cautious hand. Kima grabbed a hold of it, taking a deep, steadying breath. “I’m sorry.”

”Don’t be sorry, love. Talk to me, please. You haven’t had an attack that bad since...”

”Since Thordak.” Kima finished, her throat dry as she stared into the distance. “When Von Machina told me he was back, I...” she sighed heavily, not finishing the thought. “Ever since what happened after we fought Raishan... I can’t... I don’t...” 

“Hey, hey, it’s ok,” Allura said softly, wrapping Kima up in a tight embrace. “You don’t need to explain yourself. We can avoid water for the rest of the trip.”

”But to what end, Allie?” Kima huffed softly. “I hate being so... so weak.” 

Allura made a small sound of dissent. “We got through this before, and we’ll do it again. Just like we did before; together.”

Kima smiled, pressing her face into Allura’s collarbone. “I love you.”

”I love you too. Now, let’s go and get a drink and explore some more. Vox Machina will be here tomorrow and I’d like to enjoy the peace and quiet before they come along and cause global panic.”

”That’s definitely an inevitability with them.” Kima said fondly. “And I am definitely up for alcohol. What were you doing, uh, underneath the water, by the way?” 

“Just thinking. I find it rather peaceful. I’m sorry I didn’t hear you calling.”

”it’s not your fault that I panicked. Just need to get a little less protective I guess.”

“Don’t ever change who you are, love.” She stood, holding her hand out to Kima, who took it gratefully. “All this wedding talk reminds me of ours you know...”

***

”Kima?”

“Yeah, Allie?”

“Are you ok? You have that distant look in your eye again, love.”

“Yeah,” Kima said with a soft smile as she began buttoning up her shirt and tucking it into her slacks. “Just thinking about our wedding, and... our honeymoon.”

Allura blushed a little, turning around so that Kima could tie up her dress at the back. “Yes, it was... it was quite something, wasn’t it?”

For a moment, the two of them were in silent thought as Kima finished tying up Allura’s dress, and Allura returned the favour by helping with Kima’s bowtie. 

“Alright, enough of the feelings.” Kima said softly, leaning up to press a gentle kiss to Allura’s lips. “Let’s get to the rehearsal before the others do. I can’t wait to see Vex’s dress...”  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! Comments and kudos are appreciated. As always, have a lovely day and be kind to one another <3


	12. Misplaced

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dunamancy sucks.  
> Or, everybody's favourite wives get a surprise visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some Beau h/c featuring vex, Percy, keyleth and kimallura 
> 
> TW injuries, blood 
> 
> me: doesn't watch critrole for 5-6 weeks  
> also me: comes back to critical role and Beau's life is falling apart + we learn more abt her dad.  
> Also also me: well shit now I need to write Beau h/c
> 
> Enjoy, people :-)
> 
> WARNING: slight spoilers for the Dalen's Closet one-shot, spoilers up to recent episodes.

Vex'halia was training a new member of staff in the Slayer's Cake when the guard came rushing in.

With another baby on the way, following her and Percival's wedding, the two of them had agreed it was time to take a step back from the shop. It was thriving comfortably without her supervision and she wasn't getting to spend enough time with her family with all the Whitestone business that needed attending. She wasn't particularly happy about stepping back, but the baby was due in a few month and Percival was fretting that she wasn't getting enough rest. Not that she was getting a great deal of rest anyway; although Vax being at her wedding had been a literal dream come true, it had opened up a lot of old wounds and sore memories. She knew that Keyleth was suffering the same bittersweet repercussions. Not that she'd change it for the world - any chance she had to see her lost twin again was more than welcome. 

"Lady Vex'halia." the guard bustled in, looking flustered and red in the face. "Lady-" she paused to take a big, deep breath. "There is an intruder. Lady Kima and Lady Allura-" 

"Go get Percival." Vex had already ripped off her apron and was out of the door, Trinket following closely behind. They ran full-speed toward Kima and Allura's house, surprised to find out the outside of it undisturbed bar a few extra guards milling outside, looking a little lost. She opened the door without knocking, heading straight to the living area where she could hear talking. 

Standing by the doorway, Kima looked dishevelled as though she'd just been woken from a nap, though she was wide awake. She wore no armour and had no weapons present, but Vex knew from experience that Kima needed none of that to be dangerous. Further into the room, Vex'halia spotted Allura, standing tensely with a brown arm wrapped around her throat, a shuriken pressed into her pulse, not hard enough to break the skin. Vex took this all in with a mere glance and fixed her gaze on the intruder. 

She looked younger, maybe in her early twenties, and seemed to be human. She had dark brown skin, wide blue eyes, and wore loose blue and grey vestments. Her arms were tight muscles, and she had a sort of ropey physique. She wore a sleeveless coat, despite the Whitestone summer, and had a set of some kind of goggles on her head. Vex noted the blood on the wrappings over her knuckles and blood staining the front of her clothes, though it was impossible to tell if she was wounded from where she stood behind Allura. 

"Back off." she snarled, her voice gruff and her slight accent unfamiliar to Vex. "Or I'll cut her throat open." 

Vex gestured for Trinket to stay in the hallway, and the bear obeyed with some reluctance. Vex stepped forward into the room, raising her hands and noting the way the woman tensed more, apparently ready to flee. 

"You're surrounded." she said as calmly as she could manage. "There are guards at every entrance point. Let her go." 

The woman looked around in a panic and Vex could practically feel Kima buzzing with urgency next to her. 

"If you hurt her, I swear to Bahamut-" Kima began, snarling slightly and radiating danger despite her diminutive stature. 

"Nobody needs to get hurt," the woman said, though she clearly looked out of my depth. "Where are the others?" 

"Others?" Vex pressed, taking another small step forward. The woman didn't miss the small movement, and her grip around Allura's throat tightened. 

"The rest of the Nein. My friends. What the fuck have you done to them?" 

"I don't know-" Vex began in a calming tone, trying to diffuse the situation. 

"Bullshit," the woman snarled. "Where are they?" 

Vex realised now that the blood was the woman's own, because she shifted her weight slightly and winced almost imperceptibly. It seemed to be an effort to keep herself upright, but she was doing a good job of hiding it - if it weren't for Vex's keen eyes, she might not even notice it. 

"If hurt her, Darling, you'll be dead within a matter of seconds." Vex warned her. "Let her go and we can talk this out." no response. "What do you want?" 

"I want to know where the fuck I am." the woman snarled, backing up a little as Vex took another step forward and wincing. 

"You're in Whitestone." Vex replied, keeping her hands up in a defensive gesture. The woman just gave her a confused look. "Tal'dorie?"

"That's bullshit. I was in The Dynasty three minutes ago." 

Vex realised that whatever was going on, the woman was just as confused as she was. She didn't seem like a common thief, spy or attacker. Vex read honest confusing and a small hint of fear on her face. 

"Where's that?" Vex said conversationally, taking a small step forward.

"I told you to stay where the fuck you are." the woman took another step back, and Allura saw an opportunity and took it - she elbowed the woman as hard as she could in the ribs. She wasn't particularly good at close-combat, but she must've hit the woman's wound, because she let out a wheezed breath and instinctively released the wizard. Allura rushed over to Kima and Vex, where Kima immediately started fussing over her, keeping half her attention on the intruder. 

The woman raised her hands in loose fists, holding a defensive stance and angling her wounded side away from the three of them. She seemed to be waiting for them to make a move. 

"You're hurt." Vex said. The woman didn't acknowledge it. "I don't know what's going on here, and I don't think that you do either - we can talk, but you need to put your weapon down." 

The woman looked at the shuriken in her hand as though just now remembering that she had it. Vex could see a couple more attached to her belt and a bo staff tied over her back with blue ribbon. She seemed to be weighing her options. 

"More people are on their way." Vex warned. "You can't escape. Put your weapons down and we can talk." 

The woman's hand shook slightly, and Vex noted the way her eyes darted around, trying to find some kind of escape route. Seeing a moment of opportunity, Vex made the hand motion and cast Grasping Vine - the woman noticed a second too late, and threw herself toward Vex'halia with her fists raised, but the vines wrapped around her and held her back. 

"Fucking-" the woman snarled, wriggling in the vines, though they proved too strong for her. "Let go of me!" The vines wrapped around her more tightly and pulled her up against the wall, holding her effectively in place. 

There was the sound of footsteps behind them and all of them turned tensely, Trinket immediately going into an attacking stance. However, he settled down with a rumble when Percival rushed through the front door, his pale face unusually flushed and a gun drawn.

"What-" he began as he saw the three of them standing in the doorway to the living room. 

"Don't worry, dear," Vex said with a slight smile. "I've got it all handled. 

He stepped into the room, noting the woman pinned to the wall with vines and tutted slightly. "I thought we agreed no strenuous activity?" 

Vex rolled her eyes. "It's hardly strenuous, darling." 

"Let me go!" the woman panted slightly as she struggled against the vines. She was wearing out quickly, Vex realised, and her confidence seemed to be fading. A look of panic and fear was contorting her features. 

"If she lets you go, you're just gonna attack one of us again." Kima snarled, standing protectively in front of Allura. 

"What's your name?" Allura asked, her voice slightly scratchy from being cut off from air. The woman kept her lips tightly closed, though she'd stopped struggling, seeming slightly resigned to her current fate. 

"Send a message to Scanlan." Vex said to Allura. "I'm sure he can get her to talk." 

The woman snorted a slight laugh, then winced as it apparently aggravated her wounds. 

"Something funny?" Vex asked, bemused.

"Stop with all the big bad bullshit. Either kill me or let me go. Either way, I'm telling you a fucken' thing."

Percy and Vex shared a look. Percy eventually just shrugged. "Just do it." 

Vex approached, and the woman squirmed against her bindings once again, to no avail. "This will go a lot easier if you stop moving, dear." Vex warned her, reaching out to touch the woman's shoulder. Healing magic flowed through her and into the woman, who tried to hide how much she'd needed it. Her face remained guarded and suspicious, even as Vex'halia dropped the Grasping Vines, freeing her. "Let's try again, shall we. What's your name?" 

Once again, the woman seemed to be weighing her options. Finally, she muttered quietly, "Beau."

"I'm Vex'halia." Vex said softly. "This is my husband Percy. The woman you held hostage is Allura, and that's her wife, Kima." 

"You look hungry." Percy said suddenly. "We've got food up at the castle." 

"No thanks." Beau said, eyeing them all with a slight trace of guilt. "I just want to go home." 

"Well, let's head up to the castle and we can have a chat and see about getting you home, alright?" Vex said. Beau looked dubious but seemed to realise her options were dwindling by the second. She nodded reluctantly.

"Nice meeting you." Kima said sarcastically as Vex led Beau out of the room. Beau didn't respond, just putting her head down and following Vex. When they got into the hallway, she halted at the sight of the amoured bear sitting by the front door. Trinket growled low in his throat, baring his teeth at her.

"Trinket, heel." Vex said. The bear stopped growling with reluctance, but stayed close to Beau as they exited. To her credit, Beau didn't look too intimidated by the armoured bear that was now chaperoning them. 

"Lovely to see you as always," Percival nodded to Kima and Allura as he headed toward the front door, which Vex had busted through. "I'll, um, get someone to come and fix this." 

The two of them watched the small procession leave, before going back to their day as though this was just a minor disruption. As they got outside, several crossbows were pointed at the four of them, namely the unfamiliar figure in their midst. Beau immediately tensed.

"It's fine," Vex told them. "Lower your weapons. There's no danger." 

As the guards slowly lowered their crossbows, one of the younger guards twitched slightly with nervousness and there was a soft whistling sound as the bolt released. In a blur of motion, there was suddenly a brown hand right in front of Vex'halia's chest, holding the bolt that would've impaled her. Vex half-turned toward Beau, who seemed a little shocked herself, as though she'd done that out of instinct.

Percival marched over to the guard and took the now unloaded crossbow out of the guard's hands. The younger man paled as he realised his mistake. "I'm- I'm s-"

"Go and see Jarrett. I think you need a bit more training." Percy said coldly. 

"Yes, sir." 

"Now," 

"Yes, sir." the guard bowed his head, hurrying off toward the barracks.

Vex held out her hand expectantly to Beau. "Thank you, dear." 

"I'm fuckin' keepin' this." Beau tied the bolt to her belt, her eyes daring Vex to challenge her.

Vex considered arguing for a moment, but given that the woman had just saved her, eventually allowed her to keep the bolt. Trinket watched the guard go, snarling slightly. "Let's get walking, we can talk on the way." 

*** 

Beau was having a really shit day. 

When the Mighty Nein had encountered an Empire spy in Xhorhas, planning to assassinate the queen, they had thought that it would be easy enough to eliminate them before they got that far. What they didn't expect was for the spy to have back-up, and - even worse - access to Dunamancy. She rubbed the sword-wound on her side unconsciously, flinching slightly. Jester had brought her back from the brink of death and she'd thrown herself straight back into the battle, only to be hit with a Dunamancy spell that she didn't recognise. 

To cut a long story short, she'd found herself in the living room of a blonde human woman and a halfling who seemed just as alarmed for her to be there as she was.

As they walked to the castle, the hot half-Elven lady had tried to coax her into talking more, but she'd been busy taking stock of her surroundings. They spoke in a slightly different accent than anyone she'd heard before, and were apparently somewhere she didn't even know. She wasn't even sure she was still in Wildemount and the thought sent a shiver up her spine. She was just waiting for a message or something from Jester, telling her that they were all okay and where the hell even was she anyway and was she ok-

"Beau?" Vex brought her out of her thoughts as they approached the front doors of a big castle. Behind her, the bear and the man - Percy, she remembered - seemed to be deep in a conversation. 

"Yeah, what?" she snapped back. Ok, maybe she could be less grumpy. These people seemed nice enough (which was always suspicious) and seemed willing to help her (which was almost always a trap).

"How bad is it?" Vex nodded to Beau's bloody side. She realised she'd been breathing heavy from the uphill walk and holding a hand to her ribs, which were almost definitely broken. 

"It's nothing." she lied, doing her best to ignore the sharp stab of pain that breathing brought to her lungs. 

"It doesn't look like nothing." Vex said in a soft, almost maternal tone. Beau couldn't help but wondering if the baby she was carrying was her first. She seemed almost as tired as Beau from the walk. 

Instead of answering, Beau changed the subject. "How long have you got?" she gestured to Vex's swollen belly. 

"About two months." Vex said as she opened the front door, seeming only slightly put-off by the change of topic. "Have you got any?" 

Beau couldn't help but scoff at that. 

"I'll take that as a  _no_ , then." Vex said, with a slight smirk. "Percy, dear, will you go and get Pike?" 

Without a word, the man nodded and headed deeper into the castle.

"This is yours?" Beau gestured to the slightly intimidating building around her. The main foyer was bigger than pretty much all of the Xhorhouse.

"Mine and Percival's, yes." Vex said. "It's been in his family for quite a while. We had to liberate it from vampires, though." 

Beau was saved from considering the validity of the statement when a redheaded half-elf came down the stairs, carrying a baby with slightly pointed ears and a mess of dark hair. She rushed over energetically, and Vex quickly took the baby from her, hugging her close to her. 

So, this one definitely wasn't her first, Beau reflected. She made a mental note in case she'd need it later. 

"Oh, hi!" the redhead approached, holding out her hand. "I'm Keyleth! Who are you?" 

Beau was slightly put-off by her energetic demeanour, but shook her hand regardless. "I'm Beauregard," she said smoothly. "But my friends call me Beau."

If this place was just chock-full of hot half-Elves, she might have to reconsider going home. 

"It's lovely to meet you!" she turned toward Vex. "She'd had her afternoon nap and had some lunch. She had a bit of a tantrum earlier when Percy left, but I think she just misses the both of you." 

"Of course she does," Vex said, somewhat regretfully. She smiled at the baby, holding one of her small hands in her own. "Have you missed your mama, darling?" 

"Mama." the baby agreed. 

Beau shoved her hands into her pockets, feeling slightly uncomfortable around them. She felt a little lost, to be honest, and she realised how much she urgently missed the others. What she wouldn't give for one of Nott's toothy grins, or Caleb's awkward silences, or Caduceus' teas right now. 

"Let's get you somewhere more comfortable." Vex said eventually, heading up the stairs and indicating that Beau follow, which she did. "We have guest bedrooms. I'll have someone draw a bath." 

Beau tried to ignore the alarm bells ringing in her head.  _Nice people exist_ , she scolded herself as they entered a comfortable-looking room with a double bed.  _Not everyone is just trying to trick you. But, I mean, these people probably are._

"You're hurt!" Keyleth said suddenly, stepping toward Beau and snapping her out of her thoughts. "Let me see, I might be able to-" 

Beau backed up instinctively, resting her weight on her back leg, ready to bolt.

"Maybe give her a little bit of space, Kiki," Vex said softly, putting a hand on the redhead's arm. "She's been through a lot." 

"Oh, I'm sorry." Keyleth said, frowning slightly. "I'm not very good at personal boundaries but Pike has been trying to teach me..." 

Beau slowly began relax a little as Keyleth rambled on and on. She reminded Beau of herself a little; the biggest difference being that Beau's awkwardness came across as gruff and blunt, whereas Keyleth's clearly came out in eagerness and talkativeness. 

Five minutes passed and Percy returned with a Gnomish woman. She wore blue and grey robes, with a holy symbol that Beau didn't recognise around her neck. Though she was small, she instantly commanded respect, and Beau got the impression this was someone she shouldn't get on the wrong side of.

"Hello, Beau." she said, approaching and stopping a respectable five feet from her. "I'm Pike. I'm a healer of Serenrae. Percy said you might be hurt." 

"I'm fine." Beau said defensively, ignoring the way that breathing was getting harder and harder.

"Well, I don't think that you're being honest," Pike said softly, indicating the blood on Beau's clothes. "Would you mind if I take a look?" 

Beau looked around at the group grudgingly. Percy took the hint, taking the baby off of Vex and taking Keyleth's arm. The three of them headed out, Percy mentioning something about a garden that piqued Keyleth's interest.

"It's alright, dear." Vex said softly. "You're safe. We really just want to help." 

Eventually, with a good deal of reluctance, Beau pulled off her top, ignoring the way the pain laced up her ribs and shoulder as she did so. 

"Holy Pelor," Vex said, her eyes widening as she saw the stab wound. Beau was slightly proud of how impressive her wound was.

The blade had cut deeply into her body, lodging between two ribs and breaking both of them as it stormed through. It had probably punctured a lung, she reflected, which was probably why breathing hurt so much. The wound was covered in mud and dried blood. Beau felt herself pale slightly as she saw the greenish tint on the skin around the wound. 

"Looks like it may be infected," Pike said quietly, looking a little more concerned. "May I?" she held out a hand, indicating the wound. Beau just nodded, knowing that the sooner she was healed, the sooner she could travel home. 

Pike examined the wound closely, gently pressing the ribs. When Beau wheezed, she quickly pulled away, indicating the bed. "First thing's first, it needs cleaning. Sit down. Vex, would you mind going to get some ointments and some warm water?" 

"Of course." Vex was off in an instant, leaving Pike and Beau alone. Surprisingly, Beau didn't feel so awkward or out of place as Pike examined the wound, humming softly to herself as she did so. 

"This isn't like anything I've seen before," Pike said softly. "What kind of weapon did this?" 

"I think-" Beau gritted her teeth as another sharp stab of pain lanced through her. "Think it was some kind of longsword." she ground out. 

"Was the weapon dipped in any kind of poison or anything?" 

"Um." Beau thought for a moment, trying to remember back to the asshole who'd stabbed her. "Maybe. I don't know. They were assassins, so I guess it's probably a good bet." 

Pike raised her eyebrows slightly. "You had assassins after you and survived?" 

"They weren't after me," Beau admitted. "They were after someone important. And I didn't properly survive, would be dead right now if my friend hadn't healed me." 

Vex arrived a moment later with the necessary supplies. Pike bit her lip slightly. "It's going to hurt a lot to clean it, because it's an open wound. But I can't heal it until it's clean. Ok?" 

"Don't worry 'bout it," Beau said quietly. "I can take it." 

"Clearly." Vex said, eyeing the various scars across Beau's torso. 

"Tell me about your friend," Pike said. "The one who healed you before." 

Beau couldn't help the slight smile that flickered across her face. She knew that Pike was just trying to distract her, but she found herself going along with it anyway. "Her name's Jester, she's... she's my best friend, I guess. She follows The Traveller..." 

***

Vex was admittedly very impressed with how still Beau was as Pike cleaned the wound. She was clearly in a good deal of pain; she'd gone very pale, with sweat pining a few loose strands of hair to her face. Her muscles remained taught the whole time and her fists had found the covers of the bed and gripped them tightly. By the time Pike had finished the fifteen minute process of cleaning the wound, she was swaying slightly and her eyes kept drifting closed. 

"What about your other friends?" Pike said encouragingly. Beau peeled her eyes open for the fourth time, exhaustion written across her face. "You said you were with a group."

"Yeah." Beau didn't offer any other response. 

"Would you like to tell me about them? Or about how you ended up here?" 

"Not really." Beau said, her eyes dull and her words slurring slightly. 

"We need you to stay awake, Dear." Vex told her, sitting beside her on the bed and trying not to jostle the wounds. She was slightly shocked to find the human radiating heat that she could feel even from here.

"'M tired." she murmured in response. 

"I know, but if the wound is infected or you've been poisoned then you need to stay awake." 

Beau's eyes drifted closed and she didn't say anything for a long time, though she still supported her weight on her arms. Finally, she spoke again. "I wish Molly were here." almost as though she were speaking to herself. "He'd know what to do." 

"Molly is a friend of yours?" Vex pressed. Beau seemed to realise she'd spoken aloud, forcing her tired eyes open and meeting Vex's gaze.

"He was," she said quietly. "He died. I let him die." 

"I'm sure you did everything you could," Vex said, finding herself instinctively smoothing the dark hair off Beau's face. "I can see you care about your friends a lot." 

Beau nodded. "They're my family." 

A moment of silence passed, and Pike grabbed her holy symbol to Serenrae. "I'm going to heal up the wound now, ok?" she said. Beau gave one short, sharp nod. 

"Go for it." 

Pike put a hand on either side of the wound, noting the way that Beau tensed at the contact. She said a quiet prayer to Serenrae, before pouring the healing magic into the wound. She used several spells, and only when she was sure that the wound was sealed properly, cast a restoration spell to get rid of the infection. Vex watched the wound become another scar, littering the woman's torso like so many of the others. When the wound had healed properly, she slumped down slightly and Vex reached over to hold her upright for Pike to cast the restoration. When she was fully healed, the two of them laid her down and manoeuvred her into a comfortable position, draping the covers over her. It seemed as though she'd be sleeping for a while. 

"She reminds me of you when we first met." Pike said, with a slightly sly smile as she finished tucking Beau in. Vex got up, heading to the door. 

"I don't remember taking anyone hostage." Vex said dryly as Pike followed her out. 

"What are we going to do with her?" Pike asked, sobering slightly. 

"I don't know," Vex admitted. "We could try to find her family?" 

"Oh!" Pike said. "She mentioned that her family owns a winery in a place called Kamordah. We could look into that." 

"We've had wine from Kamordah before." Vex said, frowning slightly as she tried to remember. 

"Yeah, the Blood Thistle-" Pike also tried to remember. "I don't know, but we could have a look." 

"We could message Tary? He's in Wildemount." 

When, after a few hours, Keyleth returned back to Whitestone with Taryon in tow, he was smiling broadly. 

"I heard you require my vast knowledge of the continent of Wildemount?" 

"Yes," Vex told him as they sat down in Percy's office. "Sorry to drag you all this way, but we have a bit of a stowaway. How well do you know the Winery families in Kamordah?"

"Fairly," Tary said. "I'm on first name-basis with most of them." 

"Do you know any of them with a Beauregard in the family?" 

"Well, yes, there's the Lionett's but..." Tary frowned, looking confused. "You think the girl you have is Beauregard Lionett?" 

"Potentially," Vex said. "Why are you so sceptical?" 

"Well, I met her myself," Tary said. "My father and I were invited to her parents' place to celebrate. Her birth. Three days ago." 

"What?" Vex half-stood from her chair, wincing slightly as her tired feet protested. "What are you saying?" 

"I'm saying that she's four days old. There's no way you have her here."

Vex sat back down, not knowing what to say. 

"Perhaps she lied about who she is." Tary said. 

"I don't know," Vex said thoughtfully. "Either way, I think we should sit down and have a proper talk with her when she wakes up." 

*** 

Beau awoke to the familiar smell of Caduceus' cooking. She tried to sit, but her body protested angrily and she found herself slumping on the pillows tiredly. 

"Beau!" a familiar voice said excitedly. "You're awake!" 

And then Jester wrapped her arms tightly around Beau, laying next to her on the bed. 

"What... what happened?" Beau's voice was groggy and sore, and she felt like she'd been trampled by a dragon. 

"What do you remember?" 

Beau just shrugged, too tired to really think in that moment. Jester sat up, helping Beau get more comfortable. Beau felt a tail wrap around her wrist and fought the urge to smile. 

"Well, we were fighting the assassins," Jester began. "And you got stabbed and it was super bad-" 

"Remember that." Beau grunted. "'Was in Whitestone." 

"Yes," Jester's tail released her and swished nervously. "You were, um,  _displaced._ "

"Jes," Beau huffed tiredly. "Explain." 

"They used dunamancy to send you to a different place and time. We thought you'd be gone forever, Beau!" Jester looked distraught at just the thought. "But we messaged Essek and luckily he knew how to get you back! But you were so sleepy and we couldn't wake you up for  _ages_!" 

Beau hummed. "'M still tired." 

"Essek said something about dunamancy affecting your particles or something - I didn't really listen too much - and that you would take you some time to recover and you should just rest and sleep." 

Beau nodded. "'M gonna do that." she mumbled, closing her eyes. "Right now." 

She felt warm weight settle beside her as Jester wrapped her arms around Beau. Beau couldn't help but lean into her warmth, inhaling the familiar scent of pastries and sugar. 

"I'm so happy you're home," Jester said as she pulled Beau protectively to her chest. "I love you so much, Beau." 

"You too, Jes." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (this was unbeta'd bc I'm lazy)
> 
> Comments are always appreciated, I know I don't post a lot but you guys are always super responsive when I do! I don't really get the chance to respond to comments around uni and work but I read every one of them and y'all never fail to make my day. 
> 
> Thank you, and don't forget to love each other <3 :)


	13. Young Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a wee little bit of fluff with a wee little bit of angst. I also love the headcanon that Beau & Caleb are both autistic, it really makes a lot of sense to me. So, have some of that! :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW meltdown, implied/referenced child abuse 
> 
> Mostly just Beau & Caleb h/c  
> Autistic!beau Autistic!caleb

It had been precisely one week since Yasha and Nott had awoken to find the rest of their party much younger than they ought to be.

After the wolf attack, things remained pretty quiet. They were most of the way to Nicodranas, having been sidetracked more than once and having to travel much slower with the kids. They didn't like being cooped up in the cart all day, so Nott and Yasha had to regularly stop for rests, and given how tired and irritable they were beyond seven PM, they couldn't travel as late into the evening as they usually would. 

As time went on, the kids seemed to become steadily more relaxed and comfortable around Nott and Yasha. 

They first noticed it with Molly, who was reluctant to come to them at first. By the third day, he was listening intently to Nott telling him about Luc and (even though he apparently couldn't remember her) seemed inexplicably drawn to and protective of Yasha. Ever since that first time, each night he would insist she sing him a lullaby or tell him a story. The other kids had started gravitating over too, like moths to flame, and soon it became a nightly routine for Yasha to tell them all a story in the evening. 

Fjord seemed to get on well with everyone. More often than not, he lingered around Caduceus, who would show him various flora or fauna and tell him all about it. Caduceus even managed to convince him, for the most part, to not put flowers or plants in his mouth. Sometimes when his teething got too much for him, he couldn't seem to resist, but Nott had stopped to grab him a wooden rattle when they were passing through a town. That kept him mostly occupied, and as the days went on, they saw the slow but steady progression of his tusks beginning to come through. 

Jester was just a ball of energy that constantly wore out Yasha and Nott. She needed to be constantly kept an eye on, lest she wander off, or pull some mischievous prank, or start upsetting the others. Not that she ever upset any of them intentionally - sometimes she was just too much for the quieter kids, like Beau and Caleb, who both on more than one occasion proved that they needed a certain amount of space. Yasha finally managed to convince the little blue tiefling to eat something that wasn't a pastry (it still wasn't healthy, but it was better), which her and Nott considered to be a win. 

Caduceus was more or less the same. He didn't seem to have any mistrust of anyone or anything, except that time he got very mad at Molly for accidentally stepping on a ladybug. For the most part, the two adults trusted him the most with the kids, and more often than not, he kept Fjord close to him and stopped him from chewing anything he shouldn't. Although he didn't seem to know too much about looking after a baby, he followed his instincts. He seemed years older than his short time and the other kids often looked to him as a source of responsibility and leadership if Nott and Yasha were busy. 

Beau slowly - ever so slowly - began to open up more and more. It started off with her asking for a bit more food one day at breakfast. She was timid and wringing her hands, but there was no denying the hungry look on her face as Nott shared the food around. She was quietly pleased as the girl deflated in relief when a bit more bacon was added to her plate, and scarfed down the whole lot hungrily. Usually when they were on the road, she spent a few hours with Jester and then went to sit next to Caleb or Molly. Yasha observed that Jester was a little bit much for Beau, and although she clearly enjoyed Jester's company, she also took solace in small, quiet breaks with Molly or Caleb.

Caleb himself was... more or less the same. He was too young to really have a stand-out personality, not unlike Fjord. He tended to go to whoever was nearby, though with the option, he usually sought out Nott or Beau. For the most part, he was well-behaved, though Nott started noticing little quirks in his personality, like how he'd squirm if somebody touched him unexpectedly or cover his ears if Jester was making too much noise. She didn't really understand his peculiar ticks and oddities, and wondered if it was normal for human children to be this sensitive. Beau certainly seemed very twitchy and agitated, though it wasn't quite the same as how Caleb was. 

It all came to a head one night when they stopped in a tavern, just down the way from Nicodranas, for the evening. It had started raining an hour previously and Yasha kept eyeing the sky warily. The black clouds didn't bode well for the evening. They decided to push on to the tavern so that they could sleep somewhere dry for the night, but got pretty soaked in the process. 

Jester didn't seem to mind, playing in the rain. Caduceus spoke to Fjord quietly about how the rain was a gift from  _The Mother_. Molly seemed irked by it, his tail lashing back and forth and his eyes downcast. Beau tipped her head back, seemingly relishing in the rain somewhat. The biggest problem was Caleb. 

He'd been playing a game with Nott when the rain started, and immediately closed off. He dropped the figurines he'd been holding, huddling in on himself and flinching whenever a raindrop hit him. Nott put her cloak over him, which seemed to help a little, but he'd still gone a shade paler than usual, his hands fidgety as he muttered under his breath in Zemnian.

When Nott asked him what was wrong, he just stared at her with big, wide eyes, still fidgeting. Then, he went back to talking under his breath, and Nott listened closer, eventually realising he was counting to ten and then starting over. 

"I don't think Caleb liked the rain." Nott said as she climbed up front with Yasha. The rain obscured the road ahead of them, and Yasha frowned against the rain in her eyes. 

She half turned to look at the small boy in the back of the cart. "We're nearly there. We can get some hot food, get the kids a bath, get some sleep in an actual bed. It'll be alright." 

The next twenty minutes of the journey were made in silence, though Caleb seemed to get more and more aggravated, curling up closing into himself, covering his ears and speaking a little louder as he counted. Jester went to ask him what was wrong and Caduceus told her to give him some space. Eventually, Beau went over and sat next to him, not saying anything, not touching him, just sitting there. He seemed a little calmed by her presence. 

When they opened the inn doors, the place was old and rickety but seemed in good enough shape. There were braziers on every wall, live music coming from one corner, and about half of the tables taken up. 

As they surveyed the area, Yasha felt a small tug on her sleeve and looked down to see Beau looking awkwardly around them.

"What's up, Beau?" Yasha asked encouragingly. 

"I'm..." Beau looked down at her feet, folding her hands behind her back. "I'm hungry." 

She seemed to be waiting on some kind of verdict, which broke Yasha's heart a little, but the fact that she'd come up and made the admission to Yasha at all was progress. "I know, we're going to get some food now. What do you want?" 

Beau's eyes went slightly wide and she just shrugged, turning around and pretending to be tying her shoelaces.  _Not good at picking options, then_ , Yasha thought quietly. 

The two adults bustled the kids around a booth, book-ending them to make sure they couldn't just escape and run off. It wasn't long before food and drink was distributed, and most of the kids dug straight in. It didn't escape Nott's notice that Caleb didn't even so much as touch the plate, instead sitting back with his hands folded in his lap and his eyes on his feet. Beau said something quietly to him after five minutes, but he didn't make any moves to respond or look up. 

When the kids had finished their noisy and rather messy eating, Nott and Yasha started piling them up into two rooms and had a bath tub brought up. Nott had to help Fjord and Caleb, since they were still so small, but gave the rest of them as much privacy as possible while still ensuring they were safe. 

They'd stopped and bought them some plain, relatively cheap clothes a couple of towns back so that they weren't wearing their old clothes with pins in, like they had been before. Nott and Yasha had carefully stored each of their own clothes in their packs, for if - when - they returned back to their normal sizes. 

"Are we doing the same sleeping arrangement before?" Yasha asked Nott conversationally as the goblin dried Fjord's messy black hair off with a towel. 

"Don't see why not, worked out well enough last time." Nott said. "I'll take Caleb, Jester and Cad?" 

It took them the better part of an hour and a half to get all of the kids washed and in clean, dry clothes. They all did the usual storytelling before bed, the kids gathering around on one of the beds in Nott's room, with Yasha and Nott sitting on the other. Molly ended up carrying Fjord to bed when he fell asleep after the first line of the story, burrowing his face in Jester's dress and drooling liberally. Yasha nodded to Beau, who tiredly got to her feet. Caleb reached out for her but she didn't seem to notice, rubbing her eyes and heading to the other room they'd rented. 

The sleeping arrangement wasn't exactly ideal. Yasha slept on one bed with Molly, and Beau on the other with Fjord. The biggest issue with that was that the baby half-orc was delighted to steal the blankets, tossing and turning almost constantly. Molly was fast asleep in no time and Beau just stared at the ceiling, trying to ignore the sound of the rain outside. 

In the other room, Nott was having a little more trouble. She'd put Cad and Jester on one of the beds, tucking Caleb in to one with her. However, Caleb seemed determined to make this difficult; he constantly wriggled, kicking about the covers, even accidentally kicking Nott at one point. And then a crack of thunder sounded outside and it seemed to send the boy into complete disarray - he was shaking violently, screaming, thrashing around in the bed. 

Nott tried to calm him to no avail. She tried speaking to him, singing to him, telling him stories. He didn't calm. Eventually a tired Caduceus came over to try to help, but even with Cad's calming demeanour, Caleb just seemed to grow more distressed. Nott reluctantly had to resort to restraining him to stop him from hurting himself or anyone else as he flailed wildly.

Completely out of her depth, Nott finally turned to Jester. "Would you mind swapping rooms with Beau? She might be able to help him sleep a bit more." 

Jester bounced up, already wide awake and gave Nott an excessively affirming nod, before darting for the door. "Wait!" Nott began, but she was already gone. "Caduceus, just make sure she goes to the right room, yeah?" 

For a moment, it was just Nott and Caleb, like old times. Like before they'd travelled with the group. Like before whatever this was had taken him.

Then, the door opened, and Beau stumbled in, unable to see in the dark and looking tired. "Fjord wouldn't let Cad leave without a fuss so he's gonna stay." she told Nott as she entered, eyes quickly looking over Caleb. Then she looked at Nott, a touch of uncertainty creeping into her voice. "If that's alright." 

"That's fine, love," Nott said calmly, despite the fact that she was all but holding Caleb down. "You seem to get on well with Caleb, I was just wondering if there's anything you can do to help him? I think he's having some kind of tantrum or something but he's not talking." 

Beau bit her lip, stumbling over to the bed, wincing as she stubbed a toe. She sat down on the edge of the bed, looking uncertain. "Let him go." she said finally. 

"I want to, Beau, but I can't. He'll hurt himself." 

Beau seemed to consider if for a moment, and then another crack of thunder shook her from her thoughts. She climbed over Nott and Caleb, so she was pressed up tight against the wall. Caleb let out another loud whine. She glanced nervously at Nott, and then gestured for her to let go of Caleb. The boy immediately started thrashing again, most of which was absorbed by Beau's body rather than the wall. Beau wrapped her arms loosely - somewhat awkwardly - around Caleb, drawing him close to her chest. 

The change wasn't immediate, but it was noticeable. Over the course of about ten minutes, Caleb's screams began to die down, his thrashing growing weaker until it was just slight twitches. Eventually, he seemed to cave in entirely and curled up close to Beau, burying his face in her shoulder. Beau herself looked more than a little uncomfortable, least of all because Caleb had been screaming in her ear and pummelling her with elbows and knees for the last ten minutes. They all stayed quiet and still for another ten minutes, and then Caleb's breathing started evening out as he fell asleep.

Nott stared in shock. She'd tried everything, and in the thirty minutes she'd tried, she hadn't made any progress with making Caleb feel better. But Beau had calmed him down as easily as she did when they were adults. Beau met Nott's eyes over the mop of red hair, and Nott nodded in appreciation, not wanting to wake Caleb up. She got up off the bed, heading over to the other one and curling up. 

When she looked back over, Beau's eyes were closed, though she probably wasn't asleep yet. There was something so... big sisterly about the way she curled around Caleb, holding him close to her as she slept. 

Feeling secure that her boy was safe for the night, Nott curled up into a little ball and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for reading. If you have any prompts you'd like me to write, leave me a comment and I'll give it a go! Thank you all so much for your support, and don't forget to love each other <3 :)


	14. Fjord's Magic Jar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When a powerful mage possesses Fjord's body, it's up to the M9 to work it out and deal with the repercussions of the mage's actions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mostly just M9 family feels. Sort of Fjord-centric 
> 
>  
> 
> So I had this idea a while ago. The premise is that I roll for spell level, roll for the spell, roll for the member of the M9 that it effects, and then roll for two additional members of the M9 who are important in this fic. So, here is what I got! The rolls and everything are at the bottom of the chapter, but beware that there are spoilers there.  
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy! If y'all like this, let me know and I will probably do more where I roll for the spell and character it effects. Maybe I could do it with magic items or monsters too. :)

Fjord was acting kind of weird. 

Nott was the first to notice it, when she made a comment about his puniness and he didn't make any counter-argument. Beau, Caleb, Nott and Fjord were the only ones still awake. From around the table, they all stared at him, but he didn't respond. When he noticed them all staring at him, he looked a little sheepish. 

"You alright, Fjord?" Beau asked gruffly. His face went a slightly darker shade of green.

"Yeah, I'm just a bit tired is all." Fjord replied, his voice a little squeakier than usual. He seemed oddly distracted as he nursed a drink. "Think maybe I'm comin' down with somethin' maybe." 

Beau squinted at him, seemingly trying to weigh him up. Eventually, she disappeared back inside her tankard with a gruff. "Whatever." 

"Perhaps you should get Caduceus or Jester to take a look at you." 

"In the morning maybe." Fjord said with a tight smile. "We had a long day in that Mage's workshop, 'm sure they're both tired."

He was saved further questions by Beau slamming her empty tankard down on the table. She stood up, wobbling slightly and giving them all a nod. "I'm gonna turn in. Long day tomorrow." 

"G'night." Nott slurred. 

"Good night, Beauregard." 

"Have a nice sleep." Fjord supplied. Beau headed to the stairs, stopping only briefly to put a hand on Caleb's shoulder and give it a squeeze as she went past. 

Silence fell around the table, and Nott eventually went to get more drinks. 

Fjord pulled out a notebook, when Caleb was too engrossed to notice, and started making quick notes. 

_Jester, Caduceus - healers_

_Nott - alcohol problem_

_Bo + Caleb - protective? Friends? Distant relatives?_

_Caleb - wizard, knows lots of spells._

He put it away in his pocket as Nott returned with three tankards. 

"Actually, I think I'm gonna hit the hay too." Fjord said as she set the mugs down on the table. 

"Not a problem, we'll drink these." Nott replied, grinning through Goblin teeth and pushing one tankard over to Caleb, who muttered a quiet " _Danke_ ", not looking up. She kept the other two close to herself, starting to sip the first one. 

Fjord headed upstairs, shivering slightly and staring down at his green hands. It occurred to him as he got to the top of the stairs that he should've asked the others where the rooms were. He paced back and forth in the hallway, trying to find any indication of what room he were expected to go to. He heard heavy snoring behind one of the doors and opened it cautiously. The room had two single beds, one pressed against either wall, both occupied. He recognised Beau, the human monk, sprawled out in one of the beds, snoring ridiculously loudly. In the other bed, the blue tiefling - Jester, he thought he'd heard them call her - curled up, also apparently fast asleep. 

"Wha doyouwant?" Beau slurred, on her feet in a wobbly instant as the door opened. 

"Sorry," Fjord grumbled, staggering a little and pretending to be much drunker than he was. "Wrong room." 

"Oh." Beau squinted and Fjord realised that her human eyes must not be able to see well in the dark. "Are you sure? You don't wanna, like, stay with Jess?"

Fjord didn't know what to do. Was this supposed to be this room? Was he meant to stay with Jester, or with someone else?

"Go on," Beau said, grabbing some discarded clothes and - ironically - a bo staff from the floor. "I'll room with Caleb." 

"Are you sure?" he said. "I'd hate to impose." 

"No it's fine." she doesn't meet his eyes, walks toward him and he notices that her muscles have tensed. In an instant he knows that she's onto him. He has a split second to make a decision - try to convince her that he's Fjord, or take her down. She's drunk, he thinks minutely, he can take her. He saw her in the fight earlier - she's too reliant on her physical prowess. 

She's trying to hard to hide that she knows. 

They have a stand-off for a minute, as Beau approached. She's confident, he sees. So confident that he knows she's going to attack, or going to question him, or maybe both. Just as she goes to strike, he puts out a hand, sneaking under her drunken guard and placing a hand on her ribs. He puts magic into the contact, feels her reel and try to fight it off, but it's too late. With a spark of green-ish energy, she disappears.

"Fuck." he curses under his breath slightly. He looks around the room, but the tiefling is still fast asleep. He quickly gathers up any remaining of the human's possessions, making her bed as quietly as possible and trying to erase any trace that she'd been there. When he was done, he quickly surveyed the room, before putting the human's stuff into the bag of holding that the Half-Orc had had when he possessed him.

Then, he headed out of the room and into the corridor, only to find himself face-to-face with the other human, Caleb.

Caleb frowned at him, tucking a book into his jacket. "Isn't that the girls' room?" 

"Yeah," Fjord said with an easy smile, trying to look as though he hadn't just banished one of the man's friends to another plane of existence. "Sorry, got a little lost." he tried again, swaying slightly. 

" _Ja_ ," Caleb smiled a little. "Yours and Mr. Clay's room is directly across the hall." 

"Thank you, Caleb. Good night." 

He got across the hall without any further trouble as Caleb shambled down to his own room, muttering drunkenly to himself under his breath in Zemnian. Fjord watched which room he went into before heading into his own. The firbolg was already fast asleep as he entered, to which he thanked whatever divine force was watching over him. He sat down on his bed, cautiously patting the very expensive small ceramic jar at his waist. 

Inside the jar, the real Fjord was screaming the whole time as he watched the impostor attack Beau, and then her disappear. 

In Fjord's body, Archmage Ryland smirked. This was certainly proving to be more fortuitous than he had expected. 

*** 

Beau stared around at the sand storm that encompassed the space around her. 

She was immediately freezing cold and put on the jacket she'd grabbed, but it didn't make much difference. 

"Fjord!" she shouted desperately, the sound immediately carrying away in the wind. "Jes?!" 

No response. She was alone. 

"Fuck." she muttered, and that pretty much summed up her current situation. She grabbed her staff firmly in both hands, trying to use it to fight off the battering winds that pushed her back a couple of paces. 

She wasn't a magic user, she didn't have a way out of this. All she had was her two hands and a sprinkle of hope that maybe -  _maybe_ \- her friends could find a way to save her. For now, though, she tried to focus on what was directly in front of her: sand. She needed to find shelter.

She looked up at the inky black, starless sky and tried to suppress the shivers running through her. She reached for her goggles to keep the sand out of her eyes but realised that she'd left them in her pack. With a sigh, she bowed her head against the winds and started trudging forward.

If she didn't find shelter soon, she knew she'd die of exposure long before the Mighty Nein could help her.  

*** 

When Ryland went down for breakfast the next morning, he found an argument happening within the party. 

"But what if something happened to her?" Jester looked hysterical, on the verge of tears. Nott winced a little, seemingly hungover. 

"I'm sure she will be fine," Caduceus said calmly as Ryland sat down. "Beau has a tendency to wander off and do her own thing." 

"What's going on?" Ryland asked, looking around at their faces as though he had no idea. 

"Beau's missing!" Jester wailed. "She's not answering my messages either!" 

"You saw her last night, Fjord?" Caleb turned toward Ryland. "When you went in their room by accident?" 

"Yeah," Ryland cleared his throat, trying to ignore the eyes on him. "She said somethin' about needin' some air." 

"See?" Caleb turned back toward Jester. "I am sure Beauregard is fine. If you're really worried, and she isn't back by later, we'll go find her." 

"Brothels are probably a good place to start." Caduceus suggested mildly. Ryland made a mental stock of everything everyone was saying, knowing he could use it for later. 

"I have some, eh, shopping that needs doing today." Caleb said finally. "I need more paper and ink." 

"I'll go with you." Ryland said eagerly. "I need some bits too." 

"Perhaps Jester should go with you too." Caduceus said, smiling around at them all. "It won't do any good to stay here and worry, you know. If she's not back by the time you get back, we can start looking, ok?" 

Jester looked indecisive. 

"Well, I suppose I could always use some more pastries." she said eventually, looking more than a little unenthused. 

"Perhaps you ought to stay here so someone's here if - when - Beau comes back?" Ryland cut in with a small amount of panic. 

"I'll stay." Nott offered. "I was going to try and mix some more poisons today anyway. I'd rather do it here. Only if you promise to look after Caleb." 

She looked deadly serious. 

"Of course I will, Nott." Ryland said. 

"It's settled then," Caduceus said warmly. "Me and Nott will stay here and wait for Miss Beau, and you three will go shopping." 

"Perfect." Ryland said, smiling with his teeth. He couldn't wait to get the wizard alone and take his spellbooks from him. 

"Let's go now then!" Jester said, standing and grabbing her pink backpack off the floor. "I really want some sweets!" 

*** 

Beau had found an old abandoned shack after four hours of walking. 

She was weary as she approached it, but exhaustion and hypothermia threatened her ability to keep going. She said a quiet prayer of thanks to Ioun - something she would never usually bother with - as she found it uninhibited. It was small, barely ten foot square, and contained only a dirty old mattress. Beau quickly gave it a once over, searching for traps or any sign of inhabitance. The single window was dirty and grimy, and the whole place smelled stale. A layer of dust and sand coated the floor, the only breaks in it being Beau's footprints. 

She sat on the mattress, leaning against the wall. She crossed her bo staff over her legs, knowing she was all but exposed sleeping here but having no choice but to rest. 

The sound of the howling winds quickly sent her into a restless lumber. 

***

Jester was distracted the whole time they were shopping. 

How could she concentrate on pastries when Beau was missing? Why hadn't Beau left a note? Why wasn't Beau replying to her messages. 

As they stopped outside a storefront, she tried again in desperation. 

 _"Beau_ ," she said aloud as she sent the message.  _"I know that you're probably doing some personal stuff. Just let me know that you're ok, please? I'm really really worried about you and -_ Fjord, are you counting?" 

Fjord looked up, that same, distracted expression on his face. "Sorry, I was, uh-" 

 _Something's really wrong with Fjord_ , the voice that replied in her head was cracked and dry.  _I don't fuckin' know where I am. He sent me somewhere. Don't trust him and don't let on that you-_

Her voice cut off. 

"Anything?" Fjord asked, jarring Jester from her thoughts. His eyes were cold and calculating, and he was glancing between Caleb and Jester. 

"N-no." Jester stuttered, panic welling up inside her. "Nothing. She didn't say anything. Nothing. About anyone- anything. Or, you know."

He narrowed his eyes slightly but apparently put the oddity down to Jester's personality. "Well, perhaps she's just not feeling talkative." 

"Sounds like Beau." Caleb muttered. "Come on, it's nearly one o'clock. We should head back to the others." 

***

Ryland needed to get away before they got back to the others. While Jester was distracted with the message she'd sent, he had subtly cast  _Time Stop_ , sneaking over and taking Caleb's spellbook while he was distracted. The spell ended as soon as he had it, but it had worked - Caleb hadn't yet noticed that it was gone. He needed to get out of there before one of the Cleric's spells made it across the plane to Beauregard. 

"I, uh-" Caleb patted down his pockets, trying to find his spellbook. A look of panic flashed over his face. They were halfway back to the Tavern, but it was broad daylight and Ryland didn't really want to start something. 

Jester turned knowingly to him, her hands started to glow with divine power. "Give it back." she said, her lip wobbling slightly. Caleb turned to look directly to Ryland, a frown creasing his brow. 

"What do you mean?" he asked. 

"Fjord has it." she said suspiciously. 

"Now that's ridiculous." Ryland said, trying to project confidence into his voice. "I can't even read all that Arcana mumbo-jumbo, why would I still Caleb's book?" 

"Tip out the bag of holding." Caleb said firmly, seemingly not entirely believing him. 

"I can't-" 

"You've done it before," Caleb pressed, seemingly noticing his reluctance. "When you took it from Obann." 

"Well, that was different-" Ryland tried. He abruptly cut off when he felt a pair of strong arms grip his own and grab him tightly. Caleb surged forward, putting a hand over his mouth. Without use of his hands or his voice, Ryland found himself unable to cast. He felt a surge of panic run through him.

"What have you done with Fjord?" Caleb asked. Ryland didn't reply. "We know it's not you. Fjord took the bag of holding from Lorenzo, something he wouldn't ever forget." 

"Empty the bag." Ryland heard Jester's slightly shaky voice from behind. Caleb reached forward, taking the bag of holding off of Ryland, before turning it out. A series of different objects (predominantly Fjord's, Ryland guessed) scattered onto the ground, along with Beau's pack and goggles. Caleb leaned down and carefully picked them up, a cold look crossing over his face. Ryland squirmed a little more but Jester held him tightly. Caleb had released his mouth, but he still couldn't reach his components pouch. He mentally cycled through all of the spells he had at his disposal, but none of them would help him now. 

"I'm only going to ask you this once," Caleb said, a chill in his voice that made Ryland squirm slightly in Jester's grip. The hand not holding the goggles lit up with flame and he stepped uncomfortably close to the other wizard. "Where. Is. Beauregard?" 

Ryland kept his teeth gritted, determined not to say anything.

"Let's get back to the others." Jester said quietly, and Ryland could hear a small amount of fear in her voice as well as flames continued up Caleb's sleeve. Without a word, Caleb extinguished the flame and started patting down Ryland's pockets. He found his own spellbook in no time, and quickly found Ryland's too. He went to protest as Caleb took Ryland's own spellbook too, but one dark look from Caleb quietened him down. He frowned as he found the ceramic jar, taking it out of Ryland's pocket. 

"Be careful," Ryland finally allowed his own, deeper voice come through Fjord's vocal chords. "Your friend is in there." 

"Beau?" Jester asked, staring at the jar in confusion.

"Fjord." Caleb said, eyeing the jar. "I have heard of this magic. What's your name?" he turned toward the other wizard, but got no response.  _"_ "I  _suggest_ that you tell us, honestly, what we want to know." Caleb said, magic lacing the words. Ryland tried to resist it, but felt Caleb's willpower wash over him in a wave of Arcana. "Now, then. What is your name?" 

"Ryland." he was unable to stop himself from speaking.

"What are you doing here, Ryland?" 

His lips twitched but he was unable to stop himself from speaking. "You invaded my workshop. I saw the spells you could cast. I wanted them for myself." 

"You are also a mage,  _ja?_ " Caleb asked. Ryland nodded. 

"What did you do to Beau?" Jester asked. Ryland scowled through Fjord's eyes. 

"I sent her away." he said through gritted teeth.

" _How_?" Caleb snarled, a look of anger replacing the cold mask he'd worn.

"Plane Shift." Ryland said. By the way Caleb reeled, it was apparent that he'd heard of the spell.

"Where did you send her?" Caleb asked, his face paling slightly. Ryland fidgeted, but Jester had a strong grip on him. He snarled at her, but she didn't let up.

"The Abyss." his mouth worked without his permission. "Don't know where." 

"Fuck." Jester said, her voice breaking slightly. 

"Can you bring her back?" 

"I  _could_." Ryland said, his dark eyes meeting Caleb's. "But I'll die before I help you. You trashed my workshop and killed my Apprentice. You can suffer with me." 

Caleb's nose twitched in irritation. "One last question then. What will happen if I break this jar?" by the look on his face, Ryland guessed he already knew. 

"Fjord's soul will return to his body and I will die." 

Without another word, Caleb dropped the jar, which shattered on impact with the ground. Jester lunged to stop him, but it was too late. Glowing green fog filtered out of the jar and headed towards Ryland. He screamed as he felt the magic of his own spell invade Fjord's body through it's nose and ears. He bent over double, throwing up as Fjord's soul - furious, murderous - took back over. 

Caleb stared as Fjord convulsed for a minute, then his eyes flashed open and a look of exhaustion and confusion swept over his face. Then, everything came back to him and he let out an impressive string of curses. 

Caleb grabbed him by the scruff of his collar. "What was the name of our friend who was killed by Lorenzo?" 

Fjord's eyes went wide. "Molly - Mollymauk Tealeaf." 

"He's himself again." Caleb declared, releasing him. Jester ran up, wrapping her arms tightly around him in a hug. He staggered backwards slightly, and the confusion dissipated in lieu of anger. 

"Where is that sonofa bitch?" he growled, somehow seeming far more imposing than usual.

"He's dead." Caleb said. "You kicked his soul out." 

"I..." Fjord clutched his head. "I have his memories. He... he banished Beau to a different plane. Fuck, I should've stopped him!" 

"It's not your fault, Fjord!" Jester said quickly, hugging him so tightly he was worried that he would explode. 

"If I'd just-" 

"It was an incredibly strong spell," Caleb said. "Far beyond what I can do. There's nothing you could've done. Stop dwelling, we need to find a way to get Beau back."

"If she's still..." Fjord couldn't bring himself to finish the thought.

"She is!" Jester perked up, finally releasing Fjord. "The last message I sent her, she replied. She's the one who told me about, you know..." 

"We need to get back to the others." Caleb said. "Find a way to get her back." 

"We could've made him help us." Jester said, looking down at the broken shards of the jar.

"He wouldn't have helped us." Caleb said. "As I said, he was powerful. Too powerful to be kept alive. He would've waited until we were unaware and attacked us." 

"Let's just get back to the others." Jester said finally. 

*** 

When everyone was up to speed, sitting in the tavern room, Jester and Caduceus quickly set up a Commune ritual. Caduceus sat in the middle of the ritual circle, closing his eyes and concentrating. 

"Is Miss Beauregard in the Abyss?" he asked no one in particular. A moment of silence, then. "Yes, she is." he repeated for the room.

Caleb thought back through everything he'd heard of the Abyss, but it was Fjord who spoke up next. "Ask if Essek will be able to get us there?" 

Caduceus repeated the question. "Uncertain." he said glumly.

"Can Yussa help us find Beau?" Caleb suggested. 

"It would be better to just ask him probably." Jester suggested. "I can  _Send_ him a message." 

"Is Beauregard safe?" Caduceus finally asked. A moment of silence coated the room as the spell came to an end. He opened his eyes, looking up at them all. "For now, the Wildmother thinks that she isn't in any life-threatening harm." 

"That's something." Fjord said quietly.

"I'll send a message to Yussa." Jester said. Fjord held up his hands in anticipation, much to everyone's relief. "Hey, Yussa! It's me, Jester. I was just wondering if you maybe have any spells for teleporting across planes? It's super important. Thanks! How many was that?" 

"He could half of your last question." Fjord said. "But he got all the important stuff."

A moment later, a tired reply came to Jester. "I do have a spell for that. It's very powerful magic though. Perhaps we should talk in person?" 

"He said that he has a spell!" Jester said eagerly. "He also said that we should totally go over there right now and we can discuss it." she looked expectantly to Caleb, who was already getting chalks out. 

"Time is of the essence," he agreed. "Get your stuff together. Looks like we're going for a trip to the Abyss." 

  **All rolls made:**

Roll to decide spell level (1d10) - 6 (6th level)

Roll to decide spell cast (2d20+1d6) - 24 (Magic Jar)

Roll to decide member of M9 effected (1d8) - 4 (Fjord)

Roll to decide two other members of the M9 (1d8 twice) - 5, 2 (Caleb, Jester)

Archmage's deception to pretend to be Fjord - natural 8 (total 11)

Beau's insight check to see if something is wrong (disadvantage - drunk) - natural 2, natural 5 (total 9)

Beau's insight check (2) to see if something is wrong - natural 14 (total 21)

Archmage's insight check to see if he knows that Beau knows - natural 19 (total 21)

Archmage initiative - natural 13 (total 15)

Beau's initiative - natural 9 (total 14)

Archmage's melee spell attack - natural 17 (total 26) - Hits

Beau's charisma ST against Plane Shift - natural 11 (total 14) - Fail

Archmage's stealth check - natural 14 (total 16) - Pass (against Jester's Passive perception)

Percentile for Jess' first message - 04 (sending fails)

Beau's investigation check - natural 11 (total 19)

Percentile for Jester's second message - 95 (success)

Jester's deception check - natural 11 (total 16)

Ryland's insight check - natural 10 (total 12)

Ryland's wisdom ST against  _Suggestion_ \- natural 7 (total 13) - FAIL

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhangar! The second part for this chapter should be up soon. As always, Beau is my favourite so although I didn't roll her, she became pretty important to the story. Anywho, I hope you enjoyed this, have a lovely day and remember to love one another <3 :-)


	15. Fjord's Magic Jar Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More M9 family feels, some Fjord h/c and some Beau h/c 
> 
> Little bit of Beau/jester 
> 
> TW blood, injury
> 
> The second half to the last chapter! The M9 have to try to get Beau back. As always, any rolls made are listed at the bottom. I hope y'all enjoy! :)

Fjord stared at the uneven, rocky and jagged landscape around him. It was hot here, a blazing sun ticking down on them. Everything here seemed chaotic and overgrown, and... wrong. Distant plants threatened to consume the rocks and suffocate them, trees grew almost as tall as Yussa's tower. There were no ambient sounds of animals or birds, or any breeze rolling through. It was just the hot, oppressive air. 

"I should be able to  _scry_ on her now." Jester said quietly beside him. She squinted slightly in the landscape, her tail wrapping itself into knots unconsciously. 

"I'll help you set up." Caleb offered, already crouching down. "Let's keep watch,  _ja_? We don't know what's going on here and I don't like it." 

Jester sat down, helping Caleb set up the ritual. Fjord, Caduceus and Nott all stood guard around them, keeping their eyes peeled for anything that looked like it would attack them. Finally, Jester got comfortable, closed her eyes. She felt the familiar warm touch of the Traveller wash over her. In her ear, a voice said softly, "Oh dear, she's not doing too well." 

Washing down the flush of nausea that came with those words, Jester focused on Beau. 

Her vision was pulled away into the sky. She tried to keep track of the vague direction as she shot along the landscape, stopping in the centre of a sandstorm that was measured in miles. Her vision inched closer and closer until she could just make out Beau in the sandstorm. 

The Traveller was right. She was  _not doing well_.

Her lips looked dry and cracked, her face unusually pale. Blood ran down her cheek from a deep-looking cut just below her right eyes. The knuckles around her staff were tight and dry. Dark rings circled under her eyes and she was slumped more than usual. She seemed to be fighting, Jester realised, turning around quickly to see what her friend was facing. 

Behind her, a tall humanoid figure of shadow loomed closer to Beau, it's red eyes menacing and a smirk curling along smoky lips. It seemed to be on fire, though it was hard to be for sure, because its incorporeal form kept splitting whenever grains of sand hit it.

"Fuck off!" Beau shouted. Her voice sounded dry and Jester almost didn't hear her over the sound of the howling winds. She lunged with her staff, swiping down the centre of the creature, which half-parted around the staff, before becoming solid again. It grabbed the staff from her hands and snapped it between clawed fingers. Beau threw herself at the creature, throwing wild haymakers. The creature avoided the first attack but the second clearly winded it. 

It snarled at her, before letting out an unearthly screech that made even Jester quiver slightly.  

Beau backed up a couple of steps, her eyes going dark and furious. She winced, covering her ears, and Jester felt a surge of worry as she saw a bit of blood trickling between Beau's fingers.

"So easy to manipulate." the demon smirked. "So easy to anger."

It stepped towards her, and Beau managed to put up a weak defence as it started clawing at her. Beau knocked away the first strike it made with it claws, but that unfortunately left her guard open. The demon buried its claws up to the knuckle in Beau's ribs and she let out a cry of pain as blood immediately started pouring from the wound. Before she even had time to recover, the demon slashed again with the claws not currently embedded in her. It went right for her face, opening three long slashes across her cheek, nose and eyebrow respectively. 

Beau pushed herself off the claws, stumbling back a couple of paces and clutching her stomach. 

The demon took both ends of her staff and sealed them together with some kind of dark, smoky magic, offering it to Beau. "You're a valiant fighter. You have anger. You have fury. I can give you watch you need." 

"And what's that?" Beau said coldly, eyeing the creature. 

"Vengeance." the demon smiled in a way that would be charming, had it not been so fucking creepy. "Vengeance on your parents, who never loved you. Vengeance for those who were murdered during the war. Vengeance on Obann for taking your friend from you." his eyes glowed a little more brightly. "Vengeance on the friends who left you in the dust."

"T-they didn't-" Beau stuttered, gripping the wound in her side more tightly, blood running down her face. "They're coming for me. They're gonna come and get me." 

"Are you sure about that?" the demon took a step closer, and Beau didn't back away. It held the staff out to her once more. "Take this. I can help you. I can get rid of that Half-Orc. He hurt you. They all left you, they don't want you around.  _I_ can be your friend." 

"No, Beau!" Jester shouted, unable to help herself even though her friend couldn't hear her. "He's lying! We're coming for you, I swear!" 

Beau hesitantly took a step forward, looking at her improved Beau staff. It was black, and smoke seemed to pour off the ends. Beau half-reached a hand out to it, hesitant. She licked her dry lips, clearly considering the offer. Then, finally, she stepped back. 

"There's a difference between vengeance and justice." she said eventually. She threw two punches at the demon, the first of which simply disappeared into a puff of smoke and the second which sent it reeling. She stepped back into a familiar defensive stance, but it was clear she couldn't take much more of this. 

The demon, who had been mostly docile during their talk, attacked again with a furious howl. The first claw strike tore into Beau's shoulder, but she managed to parry away the other two. 

Beau stared down the demon for a moment, considering her options. Then, she dodged out of the way, scooting away in a way that meant the demon wouldn't be able to strike at her as she backed up, then turned and fled. 

"I do love a hunt." the deep, smoky voice said. 

Jester came back to herself, aware that she was crying. "We need to find her!" she said quickly. "She's hurt, there's... there's a demon and she's..." 

She dissolved into tears and felt an arm wrap tightly around her as Fjord helped her to her feet. 

"Do you know where she is?" 

"I don't know!" Jester wailed. "It was just this huge sandstorm and there was no sun and I think it might have been night time and... and..." 

"Wait, it was dark?" Caleb asked. Jester nodded tearfully. Caleb looked up at the sky, thinking for a moment. "I can figure out the direction she is travelling. This way," he gestured to the direction he meant. "Is North. As it is is past noon, the sun will be travelling west. We need to go that way." he gestured towards what seemed like another open plain to the rest of them.

"She was really hurt." Jester said quietly. 

"Then we go now." 

"We're down on a lot of spells," Caduceus said mildly. "I don't know if that's-" 

"I don't care." Fjord snarled. "We're going after her and we are gettin' her back. This is my fault, it's my fault she's in trouble to begin with. Don't you get that?" 

"I know but what I'm saying is that perhaps-" 

Caeb shook his head, casting Polymorph on himself and turning into a giant eagle. He cawed at the rest of them impatiently. 

"Caleb is right." Jester said softly. "We need to get going now. Standing around arguing won't make a difference. Caleb, you take Cad and I'll take Fjord and Nott." 

The others finally relented and agreed. Caleb picked up Caduceus and started flying. Jester transformed into a giant eagle and also picked up Fjord and Nott, and took off after them.

***

They were flying for a long time. 

When they got near the end of the spell, they set down and went again. Caleb and Jester were tired from flying for so long, so they instead Polymorphed Caduceus and Fjord. The next hour passed uneventfully. They stopped, cast again and kept going, keeping their eyes peeled. Jester fretted that it was the last time she could do it as she polymorphed herself into a giant eagle, and she wouldn't have any high-level spells left. Her stomach dropped a little as she realised she didn't even have enough magic left for a  _Revivify_.

They had about ten minutes left on the spell when they all saw the sandstorm coming up. It was weirdly localised, meaning that, as long as they stayed higher up, they wouldn't get battered away. They kept their eyes peeled below as Caleb and Jester flew them through the storm. 

"There!" Caduceus shouted, spotting a flash of blue and grey through the whirlwind of sand. Caleb cawed acknowledgement and went into a vertical dive to the ground, gripping tightly onto his Firbolg cargo. Jester, seeing this, followed suit. The winds buffeted them back and forth. Caleb managed to land safely with nought but a few ruffled feathers. However, a particularly strong wind cut up under Jester's wings and veered her off-path. She, Nott and Fjord landed in a tangled heap nearly a hundred feet away from their intended destination.

Caleb quickly turned back to himself, hauling Caduceus to his feet. "The others will catch up with us." he said confidently. "Let's go and get Beau." 

The two of them started sprinting, Caduceus leading the way to where he'd seen the flash of blue in the sandstorm. 

Jester got to her feet as she returned to her tiefling form, Fjord and Nott scrambling to their feet beside her. "Caleb landed over here!" Jester shouted, starting to wade through the strong winds. 

*** 

The first person Beau saw was Fjord, so she naturally freaked out. When the two of them met eyes across the sandy terrain and Beau immediately went stiff, clearly on edge. However, she didn't have time to call out to him or shout at him or cuss him out, because something was advancing on her. Fjord made out the shape out some weird kind of chitinous white creature with thick hide and red eyes. 

It started towards Beau, who backed away from it, looking weary. Even from where he was, nearly fifty feet away, Fjord could see the blood coating her clothes and the tired expression on her face. 

"Wait here!" he shouted to Jester and Nott. Then, he ran forward as fast as he could, his eyes peeled as the monster started closing in on Beau. He got within range and  _poof._

He appeared in a spray of sea mist next to Beau. He grabbed her forearm, looked her in the face and said, "Trust me, First Mate." Then, he used  _Thunder Step_ to appear back beside Jester and Nott. 

"We need to-" he was abruptly cut off by a pair of arms wrapping tightly around him. He blinked, surprised and reciprocated the hug as Beau buried her face in his chest. 

"I thought you weren't coming back." she said in a voice so quiet that Fjord wasn't even sure he'd heard it.

"Of course we did." Fjord replied, feeling a swell of affection building in his chest. Beau eventually pulled back, only to be grabbed and pulled into a tight hug by a crying Jester. 

"I thought... I thought you were gonna." Jester was sobbing and she pulled away to hold Beau by the shoulder before leaning forward and kissing her fiercely. Beau, for her part, just seemed overwhelmed and with a jolt, Fjord saw tear-streaks cutting through the blood and grime on her face. Jester eventually pulled away, blushing deeply. 

"The others...?" Beau trailed off, her voice cracked and broken. 

"Caleb!" Nott screeched, pulling out a piece of copper wire. "We've got Beau, where are you? Youcanreplytothismessage." 

"Here!" they all heard Caleb shout as he and Caduceus crested a sand dune behind them. 

"How do we get home?" Nott shouted. 

"Never mind that, how 'bout we get away from that monster first?" Fjord shouted, pointing toward where the ice demon was advancing on them cautiously, raising a spear. It seemed a little more weary now that its prey had back-up.

"Deal." Caleb said. He looked around. "This way!" and he started through the storm, seemingly knowing which way he was going despite the fact that the whole place looked exactly the same. 

They tore through the storm for hours, each time they contemplated stopping, finding a monster of some kind to avoid or hide from. Eventually, the storm managed to dissipate as they stepped out of the localised radius and onto dry, cracked, rocky earth. they kept going, trying to find some kind of landmark or shelter, until Beau abruptly collapsed.

"I can send a message to Yussa in the morning." Jester said, picking Beau up easily and staring down at her face with obvious worry. "But I think right now we all need to rest." 

"Right." Caleb started digging through his components. "Somebody keep watch, I'll make the dome." 

"M-may I?" Fjord asked, gesturing to Beau, his cheeks a little deeper green than normal. 

Jester nodded, too tired to argue, and handed Beau to him. He sat down, holding her protectively against his chest. Her breathing was shallow and she seemed to be fighting to stay awake. 

"Hey, it's ok, get some rest." Fjord told her, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around her shoulders. The areas around the edges of her lips were starting to go blue as opposed to the usual soft brown of her complexion. Caduceus quickly started making a fire and food. 

"Have you got..." Beau's words were abruptly cut off by a severe coughing fit. Jester laid a hand on her head, casting a quiet healing spell, which seemed to help a little.

"Water?" Fjord suggested, already grabbing his waterskin. She nodded eagerly and he helped her drain the whole thing. 

"Fuck." Beau said, still shivering. "Mine was in my bag." 

"Yeah, I know." Fjord said quietly, his voice belaying his guilt. "I have it in the bag of holding if you want it." 

"Not right now." Beau sighed heavily, slumping against him. "I'm fuckin' tired." 

As though on request, Caleb finished creating the dome, which expanded to encompass them. Caduceus healed Beau a bit more and insisted she stay awake long enough to at least eat something. She was too hungry to disagree and ate so fast that she didn't even know what Caduceus had cooked. They all chatted for a bit, Beau resting against the side of the dome. 

Eventually, she crawled into her bedroll, still shivering slightly, and curled up. Jester went over to her, climbing into the bedroll with her. Beau immediately sighed in content, curling up closer to Jester and falling asleep almost immediately. 

Fjord offered to take the first watch. The others were too tired to object. Travelling through that sandstorm was like running through knee-high swamp water, Fjord reflected. It seemed like the wind was trying to steal the air from your lungs. The Mighty Nein had only been here for the better part of six hours and already, they were all exhausted. He couldn't help but wonder how Beau had survived it for a day and a half. 

As though reading his mind, he looked around the dome and saw a pair of blue eyes staring at him. He jumped a little, cursed himself, and looked back at her. 

"You should be restin'." Fjord said quietly.

"Probably." Beau said. Jester had her swaddled against her chest - for warmth, she'd insisted - and tucked underneath the bedroll and wrapped up in Jester, Beau seemed much smaller. The howling winds outside buffeted the dome, and it was occasionally struck by hail stones as big as Fjord's fist. "Hard to sleep here." 

"Have you, uh... have you slept at all?" Fjord asked. 

"Found some old ruins a way back." Beau muttered. "Got a couple hours before demons came a-knocking." 

"Right." Fjord said. "Listen, I'm sorry about-" 

"Don't be." Beau said. "It's not your fault. Did you kill the asshole?" 

"Um, yeah." Fjord swallowed. "Caleb did it, I think. I tell you, he was mighty angry when he found out you'd been sent to another plane of existence." 

Beau smiled softly, something she didn't do very often. "That's all that matters." 

She rolled over, muttering something to Jester about hogging all the blankets, before curling up against Jester and burrowing her head at the tiefling's collarbone. 

"G'night, Fjord." she grumbled.

"Good night, Beau." he said fondly, unable to be angry at himself in the face of her indifference. "Sweet dreams, first mate." 

**All rolls:**

Beau's attack on Orthax - natural 13 (total 22) - Hit - 10 damage (halved because of damage resistance)

Beau's unarmed strike on Orthax #1 - natural 11 (total 20)- MISS 

Beau's unarmed strike on Orthax #2 - natural 13 (total 22) - Hit - 10 damage.

Beau's save against Rampage Pulse - natural 6 (total 9) - FAIL

Orthax claw #1 - natural 4 (total 14) - Miss

Orthax Claw #2 - natural 20 (welp fuck) (total 30) - HIT (36 slashing damage)

Orthax claw #3 - natural 17 (total 27) - HIT (19 slashing damage)

Beau unarmed #1 - natural 1 (total 10) - MISS 

Beau unarmed #2 - natural 19 (total 29) - HIT (15 bludgeoning damage)

Orthax Claw #1 (disadvantage, Patient Defence) - natural 12, natural 17 (total 22) - HIT (23 damage)

Orthax Claw #2 (disad, PD) - natural 1, natural 1 - MISS

Orthax Claw #3 (disad PD) - natural 8, natural 12 (total 18) - MISS 

Caleb's intelligence check to discern where Beau is - natural 12 (total 17)

Fjord's Perception check to see Beau (disadvantage, sandstorm) - natural 3, natural 6 (total not a lot)

Caduceus' Perception check to see Beau (disadvantage, sandstorm)- natural 12, natural 10 (total 19)

Caleb's strength save against the storm - natural 10 (total 13)

Jester's strength save against the storm - natural 2 (total 5)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple things:  
> \- I did a lot of research on the Abyss and there honestly isn't too much out there which sucked  
> \- I couldn't find Orthax's full character sheet. I sort of mixed it between a usual Shadow Demon's and what Critrolestats had on him. 
> 
> Anywho, I hope y'all enjoyed this! I liked this little challenge, I'll hopefully do another soon :) It worked out quite well. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments, and kudos are always appreciated! 
> 
> Don't forget to love each other, friends, and remember that kindness costs nothing <3 <3 <3 Love you all to pieces


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